


It's a Mad World, Isn't it?

by ChummyChewChew



Series: Lendrz's story and Spin Offs [4]
Category: Homestuck, Soul Eater, Soul Eater Not!
Genre: Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:53:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChummyChewChew/pseuds/ChummyChewChew
Summary: For those of you familiar with my work, this is the usual. Lendrz randomly dropped into another world because I wanted to try something different. This is the last crossover I will write, period. I already have enough on my plate with my other fics. Anyway, sorry for the wait. Finals came around again, and that's been eating away at my time. I've had this chapter just about finished, just waiting to be edited for a while. I've also played the entirety of Death Standing. Boy, was that a ride. I also started the Knights of the Old Republic. I'm not much of a Star Wars fan, but it's been pretty cool.For any new readers, this one of the side projects that I write where I basically plop my OC in a different world. My main fic and the others on in the collection if you're interested. Sorry if this comes across as confusing. I'm not really expecting to attract any new readers in this fic, so I didn't include any basic details of Lendrz. Also, since this is one of a few fics, updated might be sporadic.
Series: Lendrz's story and Spin Offs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372567
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. This is the Last One, I Swear

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you familiar with my work, this is the usual. Lendrz randomly dropped into another world because I wanted to try something different. This is the last crossover I will write, period. I already have enough on my plate with my other fics. Anyway, sorry for the wait. Finals came around again, and that's been eating away at my time. I've had this chapter just about finished, just waiting to be edited for a while. I've also played the entirety of Death Standing. Boy, was that a ride. I also started the Knights of the Old Republic. I'm not much of a Star Wars fan, but it's been pretty cool.
> 
> For any new readers, this one of the side projects that I write where I basically plop my OC in a different world. My main fic and the others on in the collection if you're interested. Sorry if this comes across as confusing. I'm not really expecting to attract any new readers in this fic, so I didn't include any basic details of Lendrz. Also, since this is one of a few fics, updated might be sporadic.

Lendrz collapsed onto his lounge plank with an exhausted sigh and staff in hand. He had spent the better part of the night practicing his psionics. In only a few hours, the sun would rise. He let his staff fall from his hands to the floor as he got comfortable.

_I know I should sleep in my Recuperacoon, but… it’s so far, so many stairs. I’m sure an hour or two won’t hurt. I’ll head up after a short nap_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The witch smiled as she looked over the magic circle she meticulously drew several days in advance. Many of the intricate symbols were of her design. Nothing like this had ever been attempted before. Everything had to be perfect for tonight was a special night. If her research was correct, tonight the barriers between worlds would run thin, a perfect opportunity to throw her line and see what she could reel in. Who knew when another opportunity like this would arise?

The worst-case scenario was that what she pulled would be useless. If that was the case, then she could always dissect them, she supposed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why do I feel like I just went one on one with a cholerbear?” Lendrz groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Hold on a sec’... Where am I?”

The highblood was sitting in a deserted alley. His only company was a few dumpsters. The walls around him towered above him and the buildings that formed them looked more like twisted castles made of old pale stone. Somewhere in the distance, Lendrz could hear some voices and the sound of footsteps. The sky was a deep purple and dotted with pale clouds. From his perspective, he couldn’t see the moons or stars.

Gingerly, Lendrz stood up and dusted himself off. “How did I end up here?” he asked himself. “One thing’s for sure, is I’m definitely nowhere near my hive.”

Lendrz walked to the edge of the alley and peeked out. The streets were mostly empty aside from a few strange-looking women. They were troll shaped, but that was where the similarities ended. They lacked horns completely and their skins ranged from pail as snow to as dark as charcoal instead of the usual silvery gray. The yellow of their eyes was white instead. Even all that wasn’t the end of it. Each one of them was dressed like an animal of some sort. From canines and feline to reptiles and birds. Even the woman themselves resembled the animals physically.

_Wherever this place is, it’s definitely not Alternia. How did I even get here? The last thing I remember was dozing off on my lounge plank. I need a way to blend in. One look at me, and there’ll be a panic._

Lendrz walked over to the dumpsters and peeked inside. “I can’t believe I have to resort to this,” he said as he shifted through the rubbage. After some searching, Lendrz pulled out a long tattered black cloth. He looked it over with a scowl, but he ultimately draped it over himself, poking his horns through the fabric. 

“How undignified,” Lendrz said as he looked over himself. “It’ll have to do, for now.

The old cloth covered most of him well enough- except for his horns. In all honesty, his horns weren’t a dead give away, considering how eccentric some of the others’ fashion sense. He just needed to keep his head down and find some kind of clues about the location.

Lendrz took a deep breath and stepped out into the street. He waited for shouts of alarm and panic to spread across the street, but nothing happened. Lendrz let himself relax and walked down the streets, keeping his head down. He looked from side to side, careful to avoid the gaze of the others.

The other woman didn’t pay him any mind, too preoccupied with their own business. The city looked like it popped straight out of some kind of fantasy story. It was a mix of fantasy castles and more modern construction. There were even street signs and neon advertising, but they were the only signs of modern technology existing. Most of them had some kind of wordplay about witches and magic.

“Witch Way? The Cauldron Barn? Spells, Hexes, and Beyond? What kind of pun-filled nightmare have I fallen into?”

If Lendrz wanted to find out where he was, he would need information, and that meant he would have to ask one of these passersby. A small group of women dressed like some kind of felines was talking amongst themselves near a streetcorner. Lendrz approached them with his head low.

“Excuse me, but I’m a little lost. Can you tell me where I am?” Lendrz asked, making sure none of them could get a good look at his face.

One of them turned to him. “Oh, I totally get that. I remember my first time here. Is this your first time here? I don’t remember seeing you around here. I definitely would remember if I did. You look little old for this to be your first time here.”

Sweat dripped down Lendrz’s brow. He hadn’t expected her to be so talkative. The other witches closed in around him, asking their questions. One of them even tried to flip his makeshift cloak up.

Lendrz stepped back, already regretting his decision. “Er, now that I think of it, I have somewhere to be. Sorry for bothering you.”

“What’s with the rush?” one of the others asked as the others began to circle him.

“Actually, this little witch is with me,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind Lendrz as a hand rested upon his shoulder.

“L-lady Medusa,’ one of them stammered as the group backed off. Their expressions were a mixture of fear and panic.

“I’m sure you girls have somewhere to be,” Medusa said, a hard edge creeping into her voice.

The others took the hint. They turned and ran away as fast as they could.

“That was a strong reaction,” Lendrz said, watching the group flee before he turned to thank his rescuer. “Thank you. It was Medusa, right?”

Lady Medusa was a tall, beautiful woman. She wore a long back dress with a pair of white arrows crossed on the front and a white doctor’s coat. Her blond hair was cut short except for a pair of bangs braided together that draped down her front. She looked down at him with her golden eyes and a small smile.

“Yes, Medusa Gorgon. It’s a pleasure to meet you…” Medusa trailed off, waiting for Lendrz to offer his name.

“Likewise- about the meeting, you part that is. Likewise isn’t my name. My name is Lendrz Ridrez.

“You poor thing. You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” Medusa asked, bending down slightly and giving him a sympathetic look.

“What do you mean by that?” Lendrz asked nervously.

“Please,” Medusa began, “I can tell just by looking at you.”

“What gave it away? The horns or the grey skin?” Lendrz asked as he crossed his arms.

“Neither. Between the two of us, I’ve seen stranger fashion choices on some of the younger witches. What gave you away is the fact I haven’t heard any rumors about sorcerers being born. That, and I’ve been looking for you,” Medusa explained.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lendrz asked, tensing and furrowing his eyebrows.

“Now, calm down. We don’t want to cause a commotion, do we?” Medusa asked.

Lendrz stared at Medusa, the gears in his head slowly turning. “No, I suppose not, but I want an explanation as soon as possible.”

“I think it would be best for us to find somewhere more private to discuss this,” Medusa suggested.

“No, I don’t think I will. Right here will work just fine,” Lendrz firmly responded. “I don’t take too kindly to someone admitting to tracking me, especially a stranger.

Medusa leaned in close and whispered into his ear. “I know you’re from another world.”

Lendrz froze and looked into Medusa’s golden eyes. “Now you have my attention,” he said. “Explain.”

“I was performing some delicate spells when something disturbed my research. I looked into it further and found out it was some kind of advanced spatial. I traced the source of the anomaly and it led me to you.”

“Oh, I should have asked this sooner, you keep talking about magic. I’m not going insane, right?”

Medusa shot him a curious look. “Does magic not exist in your world? I can sense magic radiating from you. You would have been found out much sooner if you didn’t radiate it.”

It was Lendrz’s turn to give her an odd look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. In my world, magic is just a load of bullshit, along with fairies and trolls and all that nonsense,” he said, waving her comment off.

The curious look never left Medusa’s face. “I see. We have a lot to discuss. Now, will you follow me to someplace more private?”

“Seeing as my only other option is flying blind through a whole new world, I will,” Lendrz relented. “Lead the way.”

“Then just follow me and stay close,” Medusa said as she began to lead him through the odd city.

Lendrz followed her instructions and kept his head low. Unbeknownst to him, a cold-blooded smile spread across her face and her eyes narrowed to reptilian slits.

_What a gullible fool. I thought I lost my little test subject when I botched the summoning, but here he is. I wonder what effect Black Blood will have on a person from another world._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz sat at a simple wooden table inside Medusa’s kitchen. She kept a small, simple home. There weren't any decorations sprucing up the room. It was small, plain, and clean. The woman herself was rummaging through some wooden cabinets above the sink.

“What kind of tea do you like? I have green, white, and oolong tea. I’m partial to white tea myself,” Medusa said as she stacked three small jars of tea leaves on the counter.

“Any is fine. I’m more interested in my case,” Lendrz said.

“White tea it is,” Medusa said as she filled a kettle in the sink before placing it on a gentle flame on the stove. She placed the two jars back into the cabinets.

Medusa moved to the table and sat on the other side of Lendrz. “I assume you have a lot of questions. I’ll answer the best I can.”

“Right now, I only have three on my mind. First, how did I get here? Second, can you send me back? Third, who summoned here?” Lendrz asked, counting each question on one hand.

Medusa gave him a sympathetic look. “You were summoned here with complex magic. It’s not possible to send you back. One of the requirements to summon you here was a rare event. Think of it as a thinning of the walls between worlds. The chances of another happening any time soon are impossibly small. Whoever summoned you here was incredibly lucky. I’m sorry, but you’re stuck here, and I don’t know who brought you here.”

Lendrz slumped back in his chair and sighed. “So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“You poor thing,” Medusa cooed softly. “Maybe some tea will lift your spirits.”

“No offense, but I don’t think hot leaf juice is going to make me feel ant better about just being told that I’ve lost my home forever,” Lendrz grumbled.

Before anyone could say another word, the kettle began whistling softly.

“I know this is a difficult time for you, but try to stay positive. It’s not over until you give up,” Medusa said.

Medusa stood up and returned to the stove to prepare the tea, leaving Lendrz to his thoughts.

_Well, it looks like I’m stuck here forever. My only hope it this Medusa lady. I hope her generosity last until I can find a way to survive on my own._

“Here, Drink up,” Medusa said as she placed a cup before him.

“Thanks,” Lendrz said absentmindedly, taking the cup and taking a sip. The warm liquid was mildly sweet. The warmth settled inside his stomach nicely.

Lendrz looked up to see Medusa looking at him intently. “What? Do I have something on my face?” he asked, rubbing the back of his sleeve across his lips.

“No, it’s just you’re not human. What exactly are you?” Medusa asked, looking at him curiously. Lendrz shifted nervously in his seat. The way she looked at him made him feel like a bug under a microscope.

“Er, sure. I am a troll, a purple blooded one to be precise if the sign was a big enough clue,” Lendrz explained, pointing at his shirt.

“A purple blood? What does that mean?” Medusa asked.

“Right, this is a whole different world. You probably don’t have a hemospectrum. This is kind of a mouthful, so I’ll be quick. They are eleven blood types. Burgundy, bronze, yellow, olive, jade, teal, cerulean, indigo, purple, violate, and fuchsia.”

“Is there is a difference between the caste?” Medusa probed.

“Yeah, a lot actually. The higher you go on the spectrum, the more physically powerful you are, you live longer, and the better position you have in the Empire. Violates and Fuchsias are also sea dwellers. There are tons more differences. Do you really want to hear them all? We could spend hours talking about trolls you’ll never meet.”

“How about you just tell me what makes you different?”

“Okay. As a purple blood, I’m slated to become a subjugglator, an enforcer of sorts. My job would be to enforce highblood rule as brutally as possible, that kind of thing… Now I would never say this back home, but admittedly I was never into the whole prospect. In fact, the others would consider me a wimp, especially since I lack the Chucklevoodoos. There are trolls younger than me that have gotten an early start on their careers.

“Chucklevoodoos? What’s that?” Medusa asked

“It’s a form of mind control exclusive to my caste. Due to a mutation, I have a certain type of psionics instead,” Lendrz said as he flicked a wrist, causing a purple flame to burst into existance in the palm of his hands.

Medusa cocked her head to the side. “Psionics?” she asked. “You just used magic. Perhaps what you call psyonics is really magic.”

Lendrz opened his mouth to retort but paused halfway and thought for a moment. “You know, I’d normally say you’re full of it, but seeing the way my night has been going, I’m just going to roll with it without complaining. Can you explain how this magic works?”

Medusa smiled. “I would be happy to. The ability to use magic separates Witches and Sorcerers from normal humans. The ability stems from our souls. Magic itself comes in many forms. A Witch is limited to how much time they’re willing to spend training, but there are disciplines that certain witches are drawn to and are incompatible with. For example, I am a close combat witch, specializing in Vectors. Since you’re a male, you’re a Sorcerer. What you specialize in is up to you.”

“That all sound pretty amazing,” Lendrz said, a touch of envy in his voice.

“There are downsides to being a witch. The DWMA is our greatest enemy,” Medusa said, the smile slipping from her face.

“The DWMA? What’s that?”

“The Death Weapon Meister Academy is an organization dedicated to hunting us founded by the death god himself. And if killing us wasn’t enough, they feed our souls to their weapons to better hunt us. It’s reached the point where the only safe place in this artificially created dimension,” Medusa explained, her voice growing cold.

“And since I have a witch’s soul, they’ll also be hunting me…” Lendrz trailed off. His face paled and his breath caught in his throat.

“Yes, they’ll hunt you relentlessly. Should they catch you, they’ll show no mercy and your soul will be devoured.”

Lendrz swallowed nervously. “That’s, uh, a lot to take in, you know. Just ... uh, being told that the god of death himself is gunning for my soul.” He shakily raised his cup to his lips and sipped.

“Don’t worry,” Medusa cooed. “As long as you stay by my side, I will make sure the DWMA can’t hurt you.”

“Thank you, Medusa. I really appreciate the help,” Lendrz said, taking another sip of his tea, beginning to settle down. “It sounds like I’ll need every advantage I can get if I want to stand a chance against the DWMA. I know this is a lot to ask, but can you teach me more about magic? I’ve practiced a bit at my home, but I still have a long way to go.”

“Of course I will. And if there is anything you might want to make your stay here more conformable, just let me know. I’m sure you miss your home, friends, and parents terribly,” Medusa said as she reached across the table and squeezed his hand to reassure him.

Lendrz gave Medusa a questioning look. “What are parents?”

Medusa's eyes widened and she looked at him sadly. “Oh my, that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” Medusa said after she recovered from her initial shock. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you like you were one of my own.”

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. If there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask,” Lendrz said graciously, ignoring the topic of parents for now.

“Oh, I’m sure I can think of a few favors you can do for me,” Medusa said with a smile. “But for now, it’s getting late. I’ll prepare a place for you to sleep.”

“Do you have a spare recuperacoon?” Lendrz asked hopefully.

“A Recuperacoon? I’m sorry, but I don’t know what that is.”

“You don’t have Recuperacoons here? How do you keep the daymares away?”

“Daymares? Can you explain further?” Medusa asked with renewed curiosity.

“My kind suffers from… unstable terrors while we sleep, to say the least. Recuperacoons keep those at bay. It’s especially important that get ahold of something like that, especially since my caste is known to suffer the worst of it, and we’re not the most stable, to begin with. I can go a few nights without one, but the sooner I can get some kind of replacement, the better,” Lendrz explained.

“Don’t you worry your little head. I’m sure I can think of something,” Medusa replied with a smile. “In fact, I’m sure I can whip something up before bed.”

“Thank you. I know this is really sudden.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

Medusa turned and entered another room to prepare whatever she had planned.

Lendrz leaned back in his seat and finally began to relax. He finished the rest of his tea as well.

_Things were looking pretty bleak for a while. I lucked out when Medusa found me. All I have to do now and watch out for this DWMA._

Lendrz yawned. It was starting to get late. He hoped Medusa would arrive soon with whatever she had planned. It’s been an exhausting few hours, and Lendrz wanted nothing more than to turn in and get some sleep.

After some time, Medusa stepped into the kitchen again with a small plastic bottle in hand.

“Here, these should help you get some sleep,” Medusa said as she placed the bottle before him.

“What are they?” Lendrz asked, taking the bottle and pulling off the cap. The bottle was full of small white pills.

“These are my special recipe. Inside each one is a dose of an all-natural herbal medicine. Normally, I would recommend one before bed, but for you, I’d say two and we’ll go from there,” Medusa explained. “Speaking of bed, I think it’s about time for you to get some sleep. You’ve had a long day. You must be exhausted. I’m sorry I don’t have an extra room, but you can sleep on the couch, and I’ll get you some blankets. Just follow me.”

“I am tired. I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you,” Lendrz said as he stood up. He looked down at the bottle, trying to store it in his sylladex, but nothing happened. 

_Guess my sylladex doesn’t work here. Just great._

Medusa let him to a small, neat living room. Like the kitchen, the room was pretty plain. A black plush looking lounge plank sat in the middle and a small end table placed beside it. It wasn’t a Recoopacoon, but it would do. Hopefully, the pills would help.

‘Get comfortable while I get some blankets,” Medusa said as she left for some other part of the small house.

Lendrz sat on the lounge plank. He rubbed his hand against the plush surface. “I guess they call lounge planks couches around here. Since I’m here for the lounge haul, my at well go native,” he said as he popped the lid from the bottle.

“Here, I found a couple of blankets,” Medusa said as she returned with a couple of comfy looking quilts under one hand and a glass of water in the other. She placed the quilts beside him and offered him the glass. “You must be thirsty.”

Lendrz plucked a pair of pills before replacing the lid and placing the bottle on the end table. He took the glass, popped the pills into his mouth, and drained the glass, placing both on the end table when he was finished. Medusa watched him with a kind smile.

“Sweet dreams,” Medusa said as Lendrz rested his head against the armrest.

His eyelids feel heavy. It was a struggle to keep them open. Soon, his eyes shut and he drifted off to sleep while Medusa watched with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An endless black sea stretched out before Lendrz as he looked into a lightless purple sky. He slowly drifted through the sea on his back. Aside from his breathing, there wasn’t a sound. Slowly, Lendrz began sinking into the sea, but he didn’t react. He simply continued to stare into the sky, never flinching or making a sound. Soon, the black sea began to overcome his face. When the black sea covered his nose and mouth, Lendrz found himself still able to breathe just fine. His eyes remained open when they were covered in the inky tar, but he could see nothing but darkness.

Lendrz did not panic. In fact, the opposite was true. He never felt more relaxed in his life. The black sea’s embrace was soothing, like a close embrace. He continued to sink into the sea. Continued to sink, seemingly for an eternity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medusa looked down at the sleeping troll, watching the steady rise and drop of his chest. She hadn’t lied when she told him the pills had a potent sleeping medicine, but she had left out an extra ingredient. Even now the Black Blood had him, coursing through his bloodstream. Every beat of his heart pumped the Black Blood, infecting his entire body. There would be no getting rid of it now, even if he stopped taking his pills. Hopefully, he would continue taking his medication. With any luck, he would go through a full transfusion. 

“I wonder what effect the Black Blood will have on you,” Medusa said herself as she brushed the hair out of his eyes tenderly. “We’ll need to do something about that passiveness of yours. Just my luck I pluck out weakling. But don’t you worry. I’ll make you strong.”

Medusa frowned as she thought. “The question is how. I could always train you the same way I trained Chrona...but I think a more subtle approach would be best for you. I don’t need another failure. I think you need to see firsthand how the world hates you, how they’ll destroy you and take your soul, and how I’m the only one you can trust,” she finished with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. He bolted upright, looking around the room frantically. The memories from last night rushed through his mind as he began to settle down.

“So, last night wasn’t the result of some kind of twisted fever dream. I really am stuck here,” Lendrz grumbled to himself.

“Ah, perfect, you’re awake. How was your sleep?” Medusa’s voice asked from the doorway.

Lendrz looked up to see Medusa standing before him with a smile and a hand on her hip.

“Great. Those pills worked great, but I did have a weird dream,” Lendrz answered.

“Really? Can you tell me about it?”

“Sure, no problem. I was floating in some kind of endless black sea. The sky was dark purple and there wasn’t any light, like the sun, stars, moons, or anything. The sea then sucked me in, but I didn’t panic. It felt right. I just kept on sinking and sinking until I woke up,” Lendrz explained. “Does it mean anything?”

“I’m sure it was just a dream caused by all the stress you’ve been under. There’s no reason to worry,” Medusa assured with a smile.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Lendrz replied.

“Of course I am. Now, I’ve planned the first step in your training.”

“Really? Already?” Lendrz asked, perking up.

“Better now than later. Or would you rather we wait?”

“No, the sooner the better.”

Medusa pressed her hands together and said, “That’s wonderful.”

“So, what’s our first lesson?”

“Normally, the first aspect of magic Witches and Sorcerers find is their animal motif, but since you’re a special case, I think we should try something else.”

“What’s a motif?” Lendrz asked.

“All Witches and Sorcerers have an animal motif. These motifs have a strong influence on our magic. They even give us unique spells,” Medusa explained.

“That seems pretty interesting. What’s your motif? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Medusa rolled up one of her sleeves, revealing small scale tattoos coiling around her arm. Around her shoulder was the mouth of a snake. The tattoo shifted to look back at Lendrz as if sensing he was looking at it. Its scaly body twisted and writhed under her skin.

“I’m a Snake Witch,” Medusa said proudly.

“A magic tattoo? That’s amazing,” Lendrz said, staring back at the tattoo.

“Thank you,” Medusa said, pulling her sleeve down. “Today I will be teaching you the most important spell in a witch’s arsenal, Soul Protect. It is a spell that masks a witch’s soul with magic, camouflaging our soul to appear human. It’s an advanced spell, but I think you can handle it,” Medusa explained.

“Wait, so people can look into our souls?” Lendrz asked, looking down at his chest.

“Only Meisters and certain other beings can use Soul Perception to look into other’s souls. Without it, we would be forced to remain in the witch realm forever. It’s not a destructive spell, so we can practice here.”

“Alright,” Lendrz said as he stood up. “How does this work?”

“The spell is easy in concept but takes a lot of effort to perfect it. You need perfection if you want to pass as a human. In essence, you are wrapping your soul with a false wavelength. Of course, most magic will cause it to fail,” Medusa said.

“Alright then, how does the spell work exactly?” Lendrz asked, standing from the couch.

“First, take a deep breath, close your eyes, and focus on the core of your being,” Medusa explained.

Lendrz followed her instructions. He cleared his mind and tried to visualize his soul. Much to his surprise, he felt something right away. A strong warmth was nestled deep inside his chest. Now that he felt it, he felt the warmth it spread through his body, from the top of his head to the bottom of his soles.

“I feel it,” Lendrz said without opening his eyes. “It feels like there’s a warm ball in my chest, and it's spreading the warmth throughout my body.”

“Good. That’s a great start. You’re a natural at this,” Medusa said proudly. “Now try and focus on that warmth and try and contain it at its source. Also, remember using most magic will break the ruse.”

Lendrz nodded. He pulled the warmth away from his body and concentrated it at his soul. A deep cold replaced the warmth. He opened his eyes and let himself relax, feeling a little vulnerable without the warmth.

“Did I do it right?” Lendrz asked.

“I can’t see souls, remember. If we want to know for sure, we’ll have to do a trial by fire,” Medusa answered.

Lendrz gulped nervously. “So, that means having to meet a Meister face to face… the same people that’ll harvest my soul if it fails.”

“I know it’s dangerous, but it’s the only way we can know for sure if it worked,” Medusa soothed gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay close- every step of the way. If things become too dangerous, I’ll step in and make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“I guess you’re right. It would be much safer long term if I knew for a fact that my Soul Protect worked properly. I'll also have to find a way to hide the whole grey skin, horns, and maybe my eyes.”

“You can leave that to me. I have a few ideas on how to handle your… unique appearance. Just give me a little time,” Medusa assured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz was seated on the couch, resting his chin on his palm and tapped his foot as he waited for Medusa to finish whatever she started. A couple of hours had passed since Medusa had instructed to wait. He had no idea when he woke up and he didn’t have any way to tell time. Finally, Medusa stepped into the room.

“Sorry about the wait, but I’m sure you’ll find this worth it,” Medusa said as she handed him a small necklace. It was made of small wooden beads. A small glyph was etched onto each bead. It must have taken a lot of skill to neatly etch such small symbols onto the beads. “This was a failed invisibility necklace I made, but I repurposed it for you. Try it on.”

Lendrz took the necklace. He turned it around his hands and found a clasp. After unhooking it, he wrapped it around his neck and hooked the clasp. Lendrz didn’t feel any different. He looked down at his hands. They were still a dull silvery grey.“Well? Do I look any different? Because I'm not seeing a diffrence”

Medusa nodded in improvement. “You may not see a difference, but rest assured you’ll pass as a human. Just be careful around your horns. They may be invisible, but they’re still there.And make sure you don’t use any magic. I scraped the experiment for a reason. It’s very sensitive to magic and will fail if your Soul Protect is lowered”

“How are we going to test this?” Lendrz asked.

“I opened a portal to Earth in the other room in a city called New York. A Meister with the Soul Perception ability is already en route to the city. We simply visit the city at the same time and see if your Soul Protection is working properly.”

“That sounds simple enough. Hopefully, it goes that smoothly,” Lendrz said hesitantly.

“Nothing will happen as long as I can help it,” Medusa assured. “Now follow me.”

“Don’t forget you sleeping medicine,” Medusa added as she disappeared through the doorway.

Lendrz picked up the bottle on the sleep stand and tried storing it in his sylladex, but nothing happened. He shrugged before just carrying it along.

_Just another problem to add to the pile._

Medusa led him back to the kitchen. Strange tools covered the table, but Lendrz was more focused on the floating portal. Black shadowy metal crookedly formed a circle. An occasional lantern sprouted from the portal. Lendrz could see the other end of the portal. The other side didn’t look much different than where they are now, another plain kitchen.

Medusa stepped through the portal without hesitation. Lendrz forced down his nervousness and followed behind. There was no sudden shift or feeling as he stepped through. It was almost like stepping through a doorway.

“So, we just stick around and if some random guy doesn’t burst in here, murder me, and take my soul I know I succeeded,” Lendrz said sarcastically.

Medusa laughed. “Essentially, yes, but I do have some bad news,” she said, her smile dropping. “I’m sorry, but I can’t risk being seen. You’ll be on your own for a bit.”

“Are you that’s a good idea,” Lendrz said, trying to keep his voice calm. “I mean, I don’t know what to expect from a Meister. Wouldn’t it be safer to stick together as you said?”

Medusa leaned in close to Lendrz, a little too close, but Lendrz didn’t pull away. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve infiltrated the DWMA as the school nurse, and I can’t risk being seen or my cover will be ruined,” she whispered.

Lendrz stared back in shock. “You’re telling me you work for the school dedicated to the extermination and harvesting of Witches…? I’m not sure if that’s a brilliant idea or a stupid one.”

Medusa laughed again. “Many other Witches feel the same way. I’m afraid my plan hasn’t made me very popular among them, even if I work for the best of our kind.”

_I’m guessing that’s the reason why the other Witches fled at the sight of her._

“Anyway,” Medusa continued, “I’ll still be in the city, but I’ll make myself scarce. Why don’t you take a stroll around town to calm your nerves? Here are a few death notes to help enjoy yourself.”

Medusa reached into her lab pocket and handed him a few gray-green bills. Simple drawings of a strange creature decorated the bills. Its jagged body looked like it was crudely cut out of a piece of black construction paper. The top of its head was shaped almost like a stovetop hat with a jagged wisp zig-zagging upward. Thin crooked limbs connected to large, white, blocky hands. They almost looked like massive blocks of marble carved into hands making a thumbs-up gesture. A simple skull mask looked stared Lendrz. It just a simple circle with three spikes jutting out from the bottom, almost like a beard. Holes were carved where its eyes and mouth would be, but only darkness was behind the openings.

“What’s this?” Lendrz asked as he took the bills. “It looks like something a wriggler made in a few minutes.”

“That is Lord Death, the very head of the DWMA,” Medusa said seriously.

“So this is the guy who wants my soul?” Lendrz said as he stuffed the bills in his pocket. “I gotta say I was expecting something more.”

“Don’t let his appearance fool you. He once looked much different. He only changed his look when the founded the Shibusen,” Medusa said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure I’m not seen.”

Medusa moved to leave, but she stopped at the doorway and looked back. “And don’t let the Meister get you down. I’m sure your Soul Protect is fine, and I haven’t forgotten my promise. Just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not watching over you. Get out there and see the sights. Try to enjoy yourself.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You know your Soul Protect works,” Lendrz muttered under his breath.

Lendrz shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He tried to remain calm, but he wasn’t having much luck. Here he was, left to his own devices in another world. At least this time, Medusa was watching over him somehow. He pulled bills Medusa handed him. There were a lot of zeros in the number on the corner, but he had no idea how much this would afford him.

“I guess I’ll try to entertain myself. If today is my last day, I might as well enjoy myself,” Lendrz said to himself. 

Stuffing the bills back in his pocket, Lendrz turned the exited the same way Medusa had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, uh, that’s something,” Lendrz said to himself as he looked up at the sun. It took every ounce of self-control to not breakdown and pull out his hair by the handful. 

The source of his near panic attack stared down at him from its perch in the sky. The sun laughed heartily, but silently with its massive tooth mouth as it stared down below, seemingly right at him. Its body looked more like a massive yellow glowing stone. Massive spiked covered every inch of its surface except for its face. It seemed to fly much closer to earth than normal.

“You know, I’m not sure if this is the oddest… Actually, fuck that, this is the oddest thing that has ever happened to anyone at any time in any world.”

Lendrz bowed his head and moved on, trying his best to not think of the sun silently laughing above him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pizza,” Lendrz said slowly to himself as he looked over the massive greasy slice of pepperoni placed on a thin paper plate. 

Lendrz had spent the better part of the day in a library, a dull-looking square building, he had managed to stumble across. Lendrz had a couple of hours pouring over the books there. Mostly history books and magazines in an effort to learn more about the world. Even with his love of books, Lendrz quickly grew bored of the ordeal and left to find something to eat. After spending some more time aimlessly wandering, he found a small shopping district. Lendrz purchased a slice and a soda before finding a seat on a nearby bench.

“What a stupid name for a food,” Lendrz continued. “Flavor disk is a much better name.”

Lendrz took a big bite, and a familiar cheesy flavor welcomed his taste buds. After being thrown into another world, even something as small as this was reassuring.

Speaking of the unfamiliar, the people milling around didn’t see through his illusion. These humans looked just like humans, aside from a more mundane fashion sense. None of them paid him any mind, and he preferred it that way. 

Medusa had a good job at making herself scarce. Lendrz had seen neither head nor tail of her. There were moments where Lendrz worried she had lied and simply abandoned him, but he quickly pushed those ideas out of his head. If she wanted to abandon him, she wouldn’t have bothered helping him so much along the way. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. The crowds thinned out as they headed home. 

_I think it’s about time I head back as well. Not a single random asshole has tried to kill me yet, so I think it’s safe to say that the test was a success._

Lendrz quickly scarfed down the pizza and guzzled his soda, ignoring the carbonated burn in his throat before standing up and beginning to walk back the way he came. He retraced his steps and passed by the library and was well on his way back. The sun had now fallen well below the horizon and the moon replaced. Much to his chagrin, the situation had not improved at all.

The crescent moon almost seemed to recline on its side as it smiled lopsidedly down at the earth. A long thin nose pointed inward and only one eye inside a large crater seemingly looked right at him, like the sun. It floated among the clouds, another similarity to the sun.

The streets looked very different lit by moonlight and without the crowds. The steady footsteps were the only sound in the night. Not another living thing could be heard. Subcounsly, Lendrz picked up the pace, eager to get home. Before Lendrz could go any further, a pair of figures stepped out into the open, blocking his path.

The taller of the two was a girl around Lendrz’s age. She wore a small blue shirt, showing most of her stomach and upper chest and an old black pair of jeans. Practically hanging off her was a tattered green jacket with white fur lining. Long hay colored hair flowed down her and her bangs covered her eyes. She tilted her head back and looked down at him with disdain and disgust in her dark blue eyes. A limp, smoldering cigarette dangled from her lips. If it wasn’t for the look she was giving him, Lendrz would have considered her beautiful.

The shorter one bore a strong resemblance to the other. Her choppy straw hair was cut just short enough to brush the bottom of her face. Like her sister, she wore a small tank top and old jeans. She stared at him with light blue psychotic eyes and a twisted smile. Lendrz had seen saner purple bloods if he was being honest. Without the eyes and smile, she might have looked innocent and cute in a tomboy kind of way.

“What do we have?” the taller one asked with indifference in as she walked closer.

“Looks like a dumbass just asking to be to get mugged to me,” the shorter one answered harshly as she followed close behind.

Lendrz had to resist the powerful urge to roll his eyes. From what he learned from his readings, an average human didn’t stand a chance against him. If only these two knew what they were getting into. 

“Listen, I haven’t been having an easy time lately, so can’t we just move this along? I just want to turn in for the night,” Lendrz said dismissively.

“Wierd how’s he’s a smartass on top of being a dumbass,” the short one said.

“Looks like it,” the tall one replied. “Since you in a hurry, why don’t you just hand over whatever's in your pocket like a good boy.”

“You stepped into the Brookly’s Devil’s, and that’s the price of the toll,” the shorty added.

Lendrz bristled and barely managed to suppress a growl. These two were pushing their luck. “I have a counter offer. How about you two turn around and go back the way you came before I decided to make you? Does that sound good to you?” he threatened as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the twins.

Shorty’s smile grew and her eyes grew even wilder. “You heard him, sis. He wants to do this the hard way,” she said as she held her right hand out.

The tall one laughed and looked at him with pity as she flocked her cigarette to the floor. “You really should have just handed over your wallet,” she said.

Before Lendrz’s eyes, she began to glow bright purple. The glow grew and grew until she turned into a bright pink light. The light flew towards shorty’s hand and began to shrink and solidify into a large silver handgun with a black plated handle. Shorty smiled and leveled the gun at Lendrz with a twisted smile.

Lendrz stepped back and raised his hands in surrender. “Is that a Demon Weapon? Does that make you part of the DWMA?”

_Shit! Did I just run my mouth to the Meister? Talk about bad luck._

Shorty laughed, still keeping the transformed gun trained at Lendrz. “If we were part of the DWMA, we wouldn’t be robbing you, would we? You have one more chance to do this the easy way before we make you do this the fun way.”

She walked towards Lendrz and jabbed the pistol right under his chin.

“Why don’t you just hand over everything you have? I won’t ask you again,” Shorty threatened.

_I might as well just hand everything over. DWMA or not, fighting with a Demon Weapon is a bad idea._

“Fine. Let’s just do this nice and easy,” Lendrz said as he slowly reached into his pocket and fished out the wad of bills before pushing into short’s empty hand. She took the wad and stuffed it into her pocket. Right as she was about to step away, she noticed his necklace string around his neck.

“Your necklace too,” Shorty warned, pressing the gun harder.

“It’s a gift from a friend. It’s really not worth anything,” Lendrz said hastily, leaning back slightly as he spoke.

“Should have thought about that before you ran your mouth. Hand it over.”

Lendrz grimaced and he slowly reached for the necklace. If he took it off, the illusion would fail. Shorty could pull the trigger before he could make a move to disarm her and using his flames would make his Soul Protect fail. He didn’t have many options. Slowly, he grabbed onto the necklace and began to pull.

“I think that’s enough,” a voice from behind the twins said.

The twins parted and looked back to see a strangely dressed teenager not much older than them standing with his hands at his side only a few feet away. He wore an expensive black suit. White rectangle decorated where the sleeves met the jacket and running down the front of his jacket. Pinned to his neck was the cartoonish skull of Lord Death. The outer rings of his eyes were yellow while the inner ones were dark gold. His features were delicate, more pretty than handsome. His ebony hair reached halfway down his face but was longer in the back. It was styled to look like he just woke up, but it was too neat to be natural. Oddly enough, he seemed to have dyed three thick black lines running perfectly halfway around his hair.

Shorty turned her attention and pointed the Demon Pistol at the newcomer. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?” she growled.

“My name is Death The Kid. I am a Meister from Shibusen. I’m here to investigate a pair of Demon Pistols causing trouble, and it seems I found them,” he answered calmly, despite being unarmed.

“What kind of name is Death The Kid?” Lendrz muttered to himself under his breath.

“So, what the hell are you gonna do now?” Shorty asked.

“I’m here to offer you a place at Shibusen as my partners,” Kid answered.

For the first time, Shorty seemed taken back. She lowered the Demon Pistol and hesitated. The pistol in her hand transformed back to purple light before materializing as her sister beside her. It looked like Shorty was about to say something before her sister pulled her back and began whispering something. Lendrz could only make out a few words along the lines of looks loaded and bleed him dry.

Despite not having a gun pointing at him anymore, Lendrz didn’t feel any more relaxed. The Demon weapons had stepped down, but if the Meister found out what he was, being mugged would be the least of his problems.

“You know what? I think we’ll take you up on that,” the tall one said when she was done whispering to her sister. “Would you mind giving us a little time to pack up?” she finished with a too-sweet smile and overly sweet smile.

Kid nodded, his face still neutral. “I don’t see why not,” he answered. “I’ll be waiting for here- but not before you return what you stole,” he added.

“Of course,” the tall one answered with the same fake smile.

Shorty leaned in close and shoved the wad into Lendrz’s chest. “You got lucky. If we didn’t have a better mark, we would have taught you a lesson,” she whispered harshly into his ear.

The pair withdrew from Lendrz and retreated into the alley to wherever they lived. “What a charming pair,” Lendrz muttered under his breath as he watched them leave.

_It’s not over yet. I have to find a way to get away without causing a scene._

Right as Lendrz was about to turn, he felt something twinge at his core, his soul and he froze. He gasped as he presses his hands against his chest. The odd feeling in his chest worsened, feeling like something was writhing within him and his necklaced buzzed briefly.

“Shit,” Lendrz muttered under his breath. “Now? Of all times?”

Behind him, Kid narrowed his golden eyes. “So, you were a Witch the whole time,” he said calmly as Lendrz finally turned. “Maybe it was the others who were in danger.”

Lendrz bared his teeth. “Sorcerer, technically, but that doesn’t really matter to you. The result is the same. You will try to kill me and take my soul unless I kill you first.”

Kid didn’t answer. Instead, he took a strange stance. He turned so his side faced Lendrz and he raised his hands to protect his face.

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “What kind of stance is that? You look like an idiot.”

Kid didn’t reply. Instead, he watched Lendrz closely, waiting for him to make the first move.

Lendrz growled and flicked his hand. Purple flame erupted from his palm, casting shadows over the darkened alley and Lendrz’s face. Before either of them could make a move, the flame in his hand spluttered and flickered before vanishing completely.

Kid cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure I’m the one who looks like an idiot?” he asked.

“What the fuck?” Lendrz cursed under his breath. He shook his hand, urging for the fire to burst from his hand again, but no flame erupted. The only thing he accomplished was to answer Kid’s prior question. “Come one, come one! Work!

Lendrz finally gave up and assumed a boxing stance. “Whatever. I can still beat you without my magic,” he said as he began cautiously approaching his opponent. 

A loud sharp hiss from above interrupted the two before Lendrz could take another step forward. Lendrz looked up to see a small black shape flying towards him very quickly. The shape grew into a massive dull green snakehead, big enough to bite him clean in half. It’s yellow reptilian eyes focused on Lendrz and it opened its mouth full of slobbering fangs as it sped towards him. Lendrz didn’t even have time to scream before the massive head bit down on his front half, firmly enough to pin him, but not strong enough to cause him pain. Kid was too surprised to make move. Instead, he dropped his stance and watched as the snake flew into the air and joined another figure perched upon a broomstick flying high in the air.

The newcomer was too high in the air to see her clearly. She wore a loose black one-piece hood that left her shoulder and arms free. Strange eye markings decorated the sides of the hood. The baggy pants cut off a little above her knees and she was barefoot. Her arms were decorated with strange black markings and short silver bands wrapped around her wrist. Her hood concealed her face completely except for a wicked smile that looked down at Kid.

The snake holding Lendrz floated beside the other Witch, his legs flailing randomly. The Witch watched Kid for a moment longer before she and Lendrz before they sped away so fast only a red after trail remained, and even that disappeared within seconds. Kid watched the empty sky where the pair floated just seconds earlier.

Kid dropped his hands and relaxed. “What are two Witches doing here? I’ll have to inform my father about this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz’s entire world was humid and sticky. The serpent’s saliva was soaking his clothes and hair. The putrid smell of rotten flesh assaulted his nose, coating the back of his throat so heavily he could taste it. He didn’t even try to try and free himself, especially when he was floated off the ground with no way to tell how high. When the Serpent sped up to dizzying speeds, he had to suppress a scream to avoid getting any of the salivae in his mouth.

After what seemed like an eternity, which in reality was only a few seconds, the serpent began to slow down and descend. Once his feet touched the ground, the serpent hold on Lendrz was released. Lendrz collapsed onto his rear. He quickly wiped his face with his sleeve as he coughed, which didn’t change much since his sleeves were just as soaked as his face.

“I’d offer you something to clean yourself, but I don’t have anything,” a familiar voice in front of him said.

Lendrz looked up to see Medusa floating in front of him on a simple wood and straw broom and wearing a strange hood. She had taken him to an entirely different part of town. Old, decrepit buildings surrounded them and not a sound could be heard. Beside Medusa, floated the Serpent and a portal to the Witch Realm. The Serpent quickly transformed into a simple black serpent tattoo before rejoining the other tattoos on Medusa’s arms.

He took a few deep breaths of fresh air before he answered.

“Couldn’t you have chosen a more dignified way to get me out of there?” Lendrz asked.

Medusa smile. “Not without revealing myself,” she answered. “What happened to your Soul Protect? Everything was going smoothly until you encountered the Meister.”

Lendrz looked down at his chest, placing a hand on it and grimaced. “I don’t know myself. One second my Soul Protect was working, then it wasn’t.”

Medusa cocked her head to the side placed a hand against her chin in a thinking gesture. “Are you sure that’s it?”

“Well, right before my Soul Protect failed, I felt something… twinge inside my chest? Almost like something moving and writhing under my skin. I also couldn’t even summon my fire after that happened. I know for a fact that I’ve never had something even remotely like this happened to me before,” Lendrz explained.

Medusa frowned. “Now that is interesting. I think it’s safe to say we should stay in the Witch Realm until you can keep up your Soul Protect without issue. I'll look into what happened to you, too Anyway, we should leave now before we’re discovered.”

Medusa held out her hand for Lendrz. He took it graciously and Medusa helped him up. “Yet again, you were a big help. I’m starting to lose count on how much I owe you,” Lendrz said.

Medusa smiled as she followed Lendrz through the portal. Her plan had worked perfectly.


	2. We Aren't in Kansas Anymore!

Lendrz blinked lazily as he sat up from the lounge plank he had spent another night on. It had been a rough couple of days for him to say the least. On one, he had been dropped into this new world with nothing and the very next day he had a close run-in with one of his apparently mortal enemies who would love nothing more than to kill him and harvest his soul. If it wasn’t for Medusa, Lendrz would have none to help him. He leaned back on his seat and sighed.

“Still can’t believe I’m stuck here forever. I’m half expecting to wake up back in my hive,” Lendrz mumbled to himself as he stretched his arms over his head. “I wonder what Medusa has in store for me today and maybe find out what happened last night.”

“Is that you? Are you awake, Lendrz?” Medusa’s voice called out from outside the room. 

“Yeah, I’m awake!” Lendrz called as he stood from the lounge plank.

Medusa entered the room, dressed in her outfit from yesterday and carrying a small stack of books. “I hope you’re feeling better today,” she said, holding out the stack to him. “I procured some books that you’ll find useful.

“What are these about?” Lendrz asked, taking the books from her.

“Just some basics about magic and the human world. The magic books will help you have a better grasp of magic and the books about the human world will help you understand the human world to blend in.”

Lendrz looked through the books, quickly glancing at the titles. Two of the books seemed to be magic books. They were old, heavy, leather-clad books. He silently read through the covers. “Witch Text and You” and “A Calculation Spell Book for Those Who Think They Hate Calculation Magic”. The rest of the reading material was magazines and newspapers.

“I’m guessing the plan is for me to go back to the human world,” Lendrz said hesitantly.

“I know your first visit wasn’t exactly… ideal, but you shouldn’t just give up. The Witch realm may be safe, but you’ll find it extremely claustrophobic sooner than you think. There is little else here beside this city. It would be beneficial that you learn you to survive in the human world,” Medusa explained.

“I suppose you’re right,” Lendrz relented. “It’s just… kinda terrifying to know that there’s a whole organization dedicated to hunting me out there.”

“Just focus on studying and blending in. Once you master your studies, no Meister will be able to find you and if they do, they won’t stand a chance against you,” Medusa assured.

“Thanks,” Lendrz said. “What exactly is all this?”

“The books are about Witch Text and the other is about Calculation magic- just like it says on the covers. The rest is just information on the modern human world,” Medusa explained.

“What exactly is Witch Text and Calculation magic?” Lendrz asked, setting everything down except for the two books.

“Witch Text is the language of Witches, of course,” Medusa said. “Not only is it a secret code, when magic is infused into the writing, but they can also be turned into ruins. The effect depends on the words themselves. Calculation magic isn’t useful in itself. It’s used to support more advanced spells and creating runes. Every Witch should at least have an understanding of it,” Medusa explained. “I refrained from getting any other books. I don’t exactly know you to handle your special case.”

“Speaking of my case, do you have any idea what happened last night? I’d rather not have another accident like that,” Lendrz said.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there,” Medusa said thoughtfully. “I can only guess that you’re not used to keeping a spell constantly active. I suggest you try to keep your Soul Protect constantly active so you can get used to the strain. We won’t plan another trip until you have a handle on it.”

“Thanks. I’ll get started on that and the books right away,” Lendrz answered. 

“Before that, I think now would be a good chance to gauge your combat abilities,” Medusa added before Lendrz could get stared on the books. “I’ll admit, I was tempted to wait and see how you would fare against the Meister, but that would be reckless.”

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Lendrz answered a little sarcastically. “But I see your point. When do we start?”

“I don’t see why we can’t do this now. Stay close to me. I have just the place,” Medusa said as she beckoned him to follow. “Yoy can get started on your reading after we finish.”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll get seen?” Lendrz asked as he set the books down.

“As long as you’re with me, no one will bother you,” Medusa assured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medusa had led Lendrz through the Witch Realm to their destination. Lendrz had only seen a small part of the city when he first arrived, but he had kept his head down and focused on staying incognito. Now that he didn’t have to worry about being found out, he had a much clearer view.

Streaking through the skies were Witches riding on simple wood and straw broomsticks. Strangely dressed women crowded the streets in all shapes and sizes with a whole slew of unusual features that sometimes made Lendrz look mundane in comparison. He still couldn’t get over the strange architecture. The buildings looked like they had lept from some kind of horror fantasy book. Lendrz looked around in awe while Medusa ignored the sights of the city.

“Hey, Medusa, bringing another non-Witch inside here? One was bad enough, but another brat is even worse. I’m sure Grand Witch Maba would love to hear this,” a light voice asked from their side.

Lendrz turned to see a pair of women standing at the entrance of another street. One of them was a tall slender girl wearing a sleeved short black and white polka dot dress. Black tights and white knee-length white boots covered her legs. Sitting on her long pale blue hair was an orange conical hat with a frog face and drooping tip. Her black eyes looked at them with contempt, but a haughty smile still graced her face. Black dots marked the ends of her smile, standing out against her pale skin,

The other, shorter looked even odder. A rigid cloak dressed that looked more like a solid cylinder covered her from neck to foot. The cloak was primarily white with thick black lines decorating it. Short, messy pink hair reached just past her chin. Her eyes seemed to be closed, but she was facing the pair so she could see. She smiled crookedly at them, a large blocky pair of buck teeth poked out of her lips. Like her companion, she had a strange black hat. Large disk ears suck out the sides and long thin nose with a large ball at the end curved upwards. Nestled on each side was large, bulbous pink eyes.

Medusa looked at the two with undisguised contempt and crossed her arms. “Don’t you two wast of magic have anything better to do.”

Lendrz raised an eyebrow at Medusa’s sudden change of mood.

_It looks like this isn’t the first time they’ve met like this. And who is this other?_

“Not until you leave the DWMA. You’ll only get the rest of us Witches into big trouble,” the taller Witch continued, unfazed by Medusa’s cold remark.

“Chi chi chi,” the short one chittered, seemingly in agreement.

The pair of newcomers approached them confidently. Lendrz stepped back Medusa, who’s glare narrowed and fists tightened.

“My mission at the DWMA is sanctioned by Maba herself, and what I do during my time is my business,” Medusa hissed coldly.

“Maba’s grown senile ever since she lost her eye,” the tall one haughtily retorted. “Everyone knows if she was in her right mind, she would have excommunicated you long ago.”

“Chi chi chi!”

“I think Maba would like to hear how you really think of her, and then we’ll see who she excommunicates,” Medusa shot back.

The tall Witch ignored Medusa’s response and instead turned to Lendrz. “And just who do you think you are? Another one of Medusa’s freaks.”

Medusa stepped between Lendrz and the others. “I don’t have the patience to deal with your antics today. If you have anything else besides empty threats, I suggest you two leave.”

Both looked at Lendrz to Medusa. The tall one shrugged and stepped back. “Whatever. Come on, Mizune. We wasted enough time here. Until next time, Medusa,” she said as she turned to leave.

Mizune chittered and she followed the other Witch. Lendrz watched the pair leave, feeling a sense of Deja Vu.

_Why does everyone in this damned world have a bone to pick with me!? I’ve only been here for, like, two days!_

Medusa didn’t move and Lendrz collected his thoughts before speaking. “Anyway, I have some questions,” Lendrz said.

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” she answered.

“First, who were those two? Aside from a couple of Witches who don’t agree with your mission,” Lendrz said.

“The Frog Witch is Euroka Frog and the Mouse Witch is Mizune. They would call themselves my rivals, but in reality, they’re just pests,” Medusa explained.

“Who were they talking about when they said I was another one of your freaks?”

Medusa’s shoulders sagged and she sighed sadly. “They were talking about my daughter. She was born without magic, so she isn’t welcome here. I try not to bring her here if I can avoid it, to spare her the trouble.”

Lendrz pursed his lips and thought. From his reading, he learned the people of this world raised their own.

“That must be very difficult for you,” Lendrz said finally. “To say my kind isn’t known for their parenthood is an understatement. I can’t really relate.”

Medusa shook her head and straightened up. “Enough sulking. We still have to test you,” she said, her demeanor returning to normal.

“Right behind you,” Lendrz replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medusa led Lendrz out of the city and into the endless desert that surrounded the city. After they walked a fair distance from the city, Medusa stopped and turned to Lendrz.

“This will do fine,” Medusa announced.

Lendrz peeked behind her, into the vast desert. “What will do? There’s nothing here except for sand and nothin’,” he said, unimpressed.

Instead of answering, Medusa flicked her wrist and the tattoos on her arm came to life. A snake scale slithered down her arm, forming an arrow and shooting from her fingers. The arrow grew and within seconds it formed a large circle before them.

Three few other scales followed suit and sprang into the circle. When these tattoos hit the ground, the specks grew rapidly until they were a foot taller than Lendrz and thick as his torso. They righted themselves and a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared and the lower section detached to form a large, toothy mouth. Their eyes immediately focused on Lendrz and narrowed into a glare.

Lendrz stepped back. “Er, so what’s the plan?” Lendrz asked nervously.

“Simple,” Medusa answered. “Just destroy those three constructs in the way you see best.”

Lendrz nodded and stepped into the circle. The constructs watched him without making a sound or making a move. Lendrz raised his arm facing upwards. He focused on his palm and a strong purple flame flickered into existence. Lendrz pumped more energy and it grew big enough to fill his palm comfortably. He focused on one of the tattoo beasts. It continued to silently glare at him. Lendrz ignored the glare and hurled the fire at the beast.

His aim was true, nailing the beast right below the head. The fireball violently sizzled upon contact with the creature’s shadowy body, sinking into its flesh before exploding. The creature burst outward, showering the surrounding area with smoldering black gunk. Lendrz stepped back and raised his arms to protect himself from the burning debris, but before any of it could pelt Lendrz, the shadowy gunk dissipated before they could pelt Lendrz.

“Thanks,” Lendrz said as he lowered his arms. “Maybe I should try less destructive methods.”

“I agree. Try and dispose of the other two in different ways. Get creative,” Medusa advised.

“No problem.”

Lendrz eyed the other two constructs. Forming the fireball wasn’t a complicated move. He had done it so many times doing so without the staff wasn’t an issue. Other, more complicated moves were another issue altogether. Lendrz took a deep breath and raised his hand like he was throwing a javelin. Flames gathered in his closed fist and formed a long pulsing bolt. After aiming closely at one of the constructs, Lendrz launched the bolt at the construct. The bolt sailed towards the construct, slicing it clean in two. The two pieces writhed on the dust ground before finally lying still. Like the first, it slowly dissipated into nothing. He felt a painful pulse in the back of his head, but it was manageable.

“Wonderful job,” Medusa praised. “For the last one, try something physical.”

Lendrz looked at the last construct. As expected, it silently stared back without making a sound. “Are you sure it won’t do something?” he asked nervously. “I don’t like the way it’s looking at me.”

“Not unless I order it to,” Medusa reassured.

“If you say so.”

Lendrz approached the last one. He stood before it, cocked his fist back, and smashed it in its glaring face. Its ‘flesh’ was cold and dense, but it wasn’t dense enough to resist his attack. Its head snapped backward, but Lendrz didn’t relent. Once it recovered, he locked his hands together and clubbed the top of its head, slamming into the ground. Lendrz quickly raised his foot and stomped its head, crushing it to shadowy pieces.

Medusa clapped behind Lendrz. “Wonderful job, Lendrz.”

“So, are we done here?” Lendrz asked, turning to her.

“Not quite,” Medusa said. “I would still like to see some more if that’s alright with you.”

“Sure, that’s fine. What else do you have in mind?”

“Just some more intense training,” Medusa said.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” Lendrz asked.

“Simple. I’ll create a few more constructs and have you spar with them,” she answered.

“I don’t think I like the sound of that,” Lendrz admitted.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t get injured.”

“If that’s the case, sure.”

“Brace yourself. I still want to see your best,” Medusa said, raising her arm to the ring, tattoos springing into the arena.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz collapsed onto Medusa’s couch with a heavy sigh. While Medusa made sure he wasn’t hurt, she hadn’t gone easy on him. By the time they had returned, Lendrz’s clothes were ragged and covered in dirt. His grey skin was covered in splotches of dust and a fine layer of dust settled on his hair. He could also use a good shower himself. Since he entered this world, he hadn’t changed his clothes or bathed, and he was beginning to feel filthy.

Medusa entered the room right behind and leaned against the doorway. “It looks like you need a change of clothes. I’ll see about getting you a few before the day is out.”

“You wouldn’t have an ablution trap here, would you? I’m starting to feel a little gamey,” Lendrz asked, sitting up straight. 

“I assume you meant a bathroom, and of course I do,” she answered. “Just let me get a change of clothes for you first,” Medusa said before leaving the room.

“I’ll be waiting for you here,” Lendrz called as she left.

Once he was alone, Lendrz relaxed again. “Tough day,” he sighed. I hope she comes back soon.”

Lendrz leaned back in his seat and waited for Medusa to return. The seconds ticked by and then the minutes and then a couple of hours. After some time, he began to feel antsy.

“Where is she?” Lendrz asked himself. “Whatever. I’m sure she won’t mind if I shower a little early.”

Standing up, he began to explore the rest of Medusa’s hive. He hadn’t seen much of her hive in the time he spent here. The rest of her hive was just like what he had seen. Clean and simple halls with closed doors. Lendrz tried one of the doors, but the knob didn’t budge.

_The abs- er, bathroom probably isn’t locked. I’ll just keep trying until I find a door that isn’t locked._

And so Lendrz continued to roam through the hive, trying door after door after door, but each one was locked.

“There is definitely something strange going on,” Lendrz muttered under his breath. “Every door is locked.”

“That’s because I value my privacy,” Medusa said from behind her.

Lendrz whipped around to see Medusa standing right behind him with her arms crossed and a disapproving look on her face.

“Er, sorry about that,” Lendrz stammered, feeling like a wriggler. “I got a little impatient.”

“I have a lot of experiments in progress, and some of them are dangerous. For your safety, don’t wander.”

“Again, I’m really sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Medusa nodded and let her arms fall to her sides. “Come, I’ll show you to the restroom.”

“Thanks,” Lendrz said as he moved to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month had passed since his test. Medusa had instructed him to not use his magic at all and keep up his Soul Protect at all times- even during his sleep. Meanwhile, Lendrz also focused on his reading. He found the book on Calculation magic to be dreadfully dull along with the reading on the modern world. Calculation magic was glorified magical mathematics, and the human world reading was just downright uninteresting. Medusa often had to remind him to read through them. The book on Witch Text was the complete opposite. The book detailed a whole nother language and detailed the effects when charged with magic. Combining words like explode and fire would cause a fiery explosion while stringing together more complex phrases would have more spectacular results. Whenever Lendrz hit a roadblock in his studies, Medusa was there to help him through most of the time. She would often leave him to run errands or check on her daughter.

“How’s your training going today?” Medusa asked.

Lendrz looked up to see Medusa standing before him. He was seated at the couch, dressed with grey sweatpants and a hoodie. A jumble of papers littering the couch and the surrounding floor. Witch Text and calculations were written on the papers. He yawned and stretched his arms before answering.

“It’s going very well,” Lendrz answered. “By the way, thanks for the extra books.”

“Think nothing of it. I just didn’t expect you to go through those so quickly.”

Lendrz shrugged. “I’ve always loved reading, even if some of these books are kind of boring.”

Medusa gave a small laugh. “Magic isn’t always flash. A lot of it is hard work and study. Without practice, you could end up freezing yourself solid with a miscalculated spell. Speaking of spells, how has your Soul Protect been.”

“No problems there. I’ve held it together for most of the month. I can keep it up without even thinking about it.”

“And any spasms?”

“Nope, not since the first and only on Earth,” Lendrz answered. “It looks like that was the only time.”

“Good. I think it’s time we practice what you learned. It looks like you’ve mastered Soul Protect.”

That got Lendrz’s attention. He sat up straight, his attention solely on Medusa. “Really? It’s about time. I’ve been dying to try these spells out what I’ve been reading about the moment I started reading.”

Lendrz focused on his Soul and let the shell drop. He felt a rush of warmth spread through his body. He flexed his fingers and toes.

“I’ll never get used to being cold. One of the perks of being a highblood, having a much lower body temperature.”

“I’ll get some supplies for runes. Once you’re finished, we practice in the dessert again,” she said as she left.

Lendrz rubbed his hands eagerly. After so much studying, he couldn’t wait to put what he learned to use.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again Lendrz stood before three constructs in a makeshift circle. This time, he held a small stack of plain flashcards held together by a paper clip. Written upon each one of them was a short, simple command written across them in ink. Drawing the runes had taken time and patience. Even the smallest error could have disastrous effects. He channeled his magic into the ink with Calculation Magic, and it would only take another burst to activate the effect. 

“Don’t hesitate. You’ve practiced a lot for this,” Medusa called from behind him.

Taking a deep breath, he drew a slip from the clip and read the card. The runes would help the slip fly true and burst into electricity upon contact with anything. He rubbed his thumb against the writing. The runes immediately glowed a fierce blue. Lendrz flicked the card at one of the constructs, hitting it directly in the head. The moment it touched the construct, the slip burst into cackling electricity, incinerating the paper. The creature didn’t fare much better. Cackling electricity coursed through its body, radiating blue light. It’s body violently spasmed until it dropped to the ground, lightly twitching until it dissipated.

“Not bad for a first effort,” Medusa commented.

“It was nothing complicated. Just the commands Burst and Electricity with a few others to help it fly straight,” Lendrz said, hardly containing his excitement. When he destroyed the construct, he felt a rush of adrenaline and power.

_I can’t believe I just cast my first spell! Actual magic!_

“Well, don’t keep me waiting. You still have a stack to work through and we won’t leave until you’ve gone through them all.”

Lendrz pulled another slip from his clip and examined it. The runes were organized in a circle. He flicked it to one of the remaining creatures. This time, he hit the ground in front of it. The card glowed pale blue and the light circled the creature. It remained motionless as the light formed a bubble over it. The air grew cold and the light condensed to solid ice. The construct’s blurred body could still be seen behind the ice. All this happened in little more than a second. Again, he felt the same rush of power as before.

_Nice to know that one worked without a hitch. I was worried that one wouldn’t work out._

“A solid attempt, but you still need some practice on that one,” Medusa said before Lendrz could move on.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lendrz asked, turning to her.

“Observe,” Medusa said, gesturing to the trapped construct.

It slammed its head against the ice prison, cracking the ice in a single impact. It continued to hammer away at the ice, the cracks spreading more and more. Within seconds, it smashed through the ice and slithered out.

“Damn,” Lendrz muttered under his breath. “I really fucked that one up.”

“Don’t get so worked up about it. There’s nothing wrong with messing up on the more complex runes. This is your first time, after all,” Medusa assured.

“You’re right. I still have a stack to work through,” Lendrz said, pulling another slip. 

Today would be a long day, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz collapsed into a seating position. It had taken a couple of hours for him to work through all the runes he created. Each activation drained him by a minuscule amount. It was unnoticeable at first, but by the time he was done, he was exhausted. Despite his exhaustion, he felt great. Casting those spells made him feel powerful.

“A solid day’s work, aside from a few hiccups here and there,” Medusa said as she walked up to him.

“Casting those spells made me feel amazing. Is that how all Witches feel when they cast magic?” Lendrz asked.

“What you’re feeling is the Pull of Magic. It’s the source of the divide between Witches and humans. This Pull drives us to cause destruction,” she explained.

Lendrz sighed.

_Great. Highblood rage on top of the Pull of Magic. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate._

“These Runes are pretty great. I’m surprised I don’t see them everywhere,” Lendrz mused.

“Runes are mostly used to train little Witches the basics. Most simply abandon them once they find a school they enjoy,” she answered.

“Their loss.”

“After seeing what you’re capable of, I have something to ask of you,” Medusa began.

Lendrz twisted around to look at her. “And what exactly do you want to ask?”

Medusa looked sheepish and avoided his eyes. “You’re not going to like what I’m going to ask.”

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. You’re only making me nervous.”

Medusa took a deep breath before continuing. “I would like you to pose as a student in Shibusen,” she said finally.

A long silence settled between the two as Lendrz opened his mouth to reply, but his words failed him. He closed and opened his mouth several times before he finally found his voice again. 

“Excuse me, but, uh, I’m not sure I heard you right. Did you ask me to try to infiltrate the DWMA? You know, the singular most dangerous place for someone like me.”

“I know this is difficult,” Medusa began before Lendrz cut her off.

“Difficult? No, in order for something to be difficult it would have to be at least possible,” Lendrz retorted.

Medusa roller her eyes. “ Are you finished yet?”

“No, I have one more,” Lendrz snapped back. “You know, if you wanted me dead, there are simpler ways to go about it. Okay, now I’m done.”

“Lendrz, I wouldn’t be asking you to do it if I didn’t think you could handle it,” Medusa pressed.

“Aren’t you already in Shibusen. Why do you need me?”

Medusa didn’t answer right away. “I have a plan,” she said finally. “A plan to destroy the DWMA once and for all. Just think of it. A world where Witches and Sorcerers can live without fear.”

Lendrz frowned. “Still, destroying the DWMA? I don’t think I can handle it.”

“It must be destroyed. As long as it exists, we will always be in danger. With every generation, they get more dangerous. If they’re allowed to continue, there's a chance even this realm won't be safe.”

“What will I have to do if I agree,” Lendrz said, relenting.

“The DWMA is divided into two curriculums. NOT and EAT. NOT stands for Normally Overcome Targets class. This class is full of potential Meisters and Weapons, but they’re not sent out on missions, making them the perfect class for you. All you would need to do is keep a low profile and wait for my orders.”

“And just what are these orders?” Lendrz asked. “If I’m putting myself at risk, I would like to know exactly what I’m doing.”

Medusa hesitated. “I’m sorry, but I’ve spent years planning, and I can’t risk any leaks now.”

_Medusa has a point. As long as the DWMA exist, they’ll never stop hunting me. The sooner they’re gone, the sooner I can live in peace._

Lendrz sighed. “And as part of the NOT class, I won’t have to participate in any missions? My job would be to just wait for any further orders?”

Medusa nodded. “Of course. And as the school nurse, you can always come to me if you need any help.”

“Fine, I’ll help- even if I have no idea what you’re doing,” Lendrz said.

“That’s wonderful,” Medusa said, crouching beside him and ruffling his hair. “I knew you would come around.”

“It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve done to help me,” Lendrz said, not moving his head away.

“Don’t worry. I know exactly what I’m doing,” Medusa assured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz stood at the edger where grassy plains met dusty desert with a backpack slung across one shoulder. In the distance, a massive, sprawling city stood. Death City was named after its ruler, Lord Death. The architecture reminded him of the Witch Realm, ironically enough. White buildings resembling cathedrals and towers. Like a mountain towering over hills, a cluster of buildings was nestled at the center of them all. These buildings were made of black and dark purple stone. At the very top was Shibusen itself. A long staircase led to a large circular base. A large castle comprised of towers and spires looked more like some kind of demented funhouse than a castle. Conical red roofs capped each tower. At the front of the school, a large Shinigami hung over the entrance. Large red spikes jutted out of the mask’s holes. Two smaller skull masks hung on its sides, but with crescent eyes. Large, white candles jutted out from the base of the school. Each one was lit and the ends drooped, but the wax didn’t fall.

Medusa had transported him to the closest city, which was still fairly far away, and paid his fare to Death City. Unfortunately, the driver only took him so far, and he had to walk the last leg of the journey himself. Lendrz looked behind and saw the bus already well on its way to disappearing into the distance.

“Couldn’t have spared a little more time driving me, could ya, pal,” said rather than asked. “Then again, not many would accept payment from a strange woman to drive a stranger to Death City without telling anyone, no questions asked.

Lendrz shrugged and continued to Death City. He panted his pocket, feeling his wallet through his jeans. Medusa had falsified all the documents he needed to poise as a student. All he needed to do was submit his application to the school, and Medusa would make sure everything went along smoothly.

“Might as well get walking. I want to submit my application before tomorrow,” Lendrz said to himself as he took the first step of many.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Would it kill them to add an elevator or something,” Lendrz grumbled as he climbed the stair leading to the academy. After a solid few minutes, he was finally nearing the top. As he climbed he turned behind him and saw the city spread out before him. With a clear blue sky, the city looked beautiful. As long as he made sure he didn’t look and the living sun, that it.

With one final stair, Lendrz climbed onto the campus proper. He looked up at the largest skull. Now that the irritation from climbing the stairs had faded, nervousness began to settle in his stomach. Somewhere inside this school was Death himself. Lendrz swallowed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Before Lendrz could take another step, someone spoke up.

“Is this your first time at Shibusen?” a gentle voice asked from beside him. “I’ve seen that look on a lot of first years.

Lendrz turned to see a short, slim, girl around his age looking at him with a smile. She wore a red and black plaid skirt and a beige vest over a dress shirt with a green, white striped tie. She also wore black and white combat boots. Her pale sandy blond hair was done into pigtails on the sides of her head.

“Er, yeah, I’m here to apply for next year,” Lendrz stammered out finally. “Why are you here? Summer isn’t over yet.”

The girl shrugged. “I just turned in my paperwork for next year early. My partner would be here with me, but, as always, he couldn’t be bothered because being early isn’t cool,” she finished, frowning as she finished.

“Anyway,” she went one, “ My name’s Maka Albarn. What’s yours?”

Make held out a hand to Lendrz with a smile. Lendrz cocked his head to the side and looked in her green eyes curiously before taking her hand and shaking it. 

“My name is Lendrz Ridrez. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Albarn.”

“Do you need any help? It’s easy to get lost in Shibusen if you’ve never been here,” Maka offered.

Lendrz hesitated. As much as he loathed having to spend time with anyone affiliated with Shibusen, the sooner he submitted his application, the sooner he could focus on lying low.

“Yeah, that would be great. Lead away,” Lendrz answered.

“Great. Just don’t wander off,” Maka said as she turned and began making her way to the school.

Despite the school’s strange exterior, the interior was quite mundane. Simple white hallways and classrooms.

“So, what class are you joining?” Maka asked as she led him through identical hallways.

“The NOT class,” Lendrz answered. “Chances are, we probably won’t be seeing much of either.”

“We all have to start somewhere. Just work hard, and you’ll be in the EAT class before you know it. Are you a Weapon or a Meister?”

“Meister.”

“Do you have a partner?”

“Nope.”

“You must be looking forward to the meet and greet.”

“I guess.”

“You’re not very talkative, are you?” Maka asked, turning to Lendrz.

Lendrz shrugged. “I guess.”

“I could show you around the city if you want,” she offered. “Death City can take some time to get used to.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

Maka frowned and they walked silently until they reached a woman sitting at a recipient’s desk. The woman was short and stout. Her short blond hair was done in curls. She had a large nose and lips. A generous amount of makeup covered her face. Her cheeks were decorated with large pink circles. She wore a pink pants suit.

“Weren’t you just here, Maka?” the woman asked.

“I’m just showing a new student the way here, Auntie,” Maka answered.

Auntie turned to Lendrz. “And how can I help you, dear?”

“I’m here to apply,” Lendrz said, reaching into his backpack and retreating a large envelope and placing it before Auntie.

“Wonderful. Now just fill this out and we’ll contact you as soon as we can,” Auntie said sweetly as she handed him a document and a pen.

Lendrz took both and quickly filled it out just like Medusa instructed him how before handing it back. 

“Thank you,” Lendrz said as he turned to leave. He was surprised to see Maka waiting patiently behind him. 

“You’re still here?” Lendrz asked.

“Come on. I’ll lead you out,” Maka said as she waved for him to follow.

Lendrz nodded and followed Maka out of the school. Maka didn’t bother trying to try to start up another conversation until they were descending the stairs.

“So, any plans on spending the rest of the summer?” she asked as they walked.

“Probably just wait until school starts. I don’t know anyone here,” Lendrz answered.

“You know me. My offer still stands,” Maka offered again.

“Again, I’ll have to turn you down, Albarn.”

“I noticed you called me by my last name a couple of times. Are you from Japan? I’m half Japanese from my mother’s side.”

Lendrz thought before answering. He had to make sure he didn’t stray from the story Medusa told him. 

“No. I was born in rural Oklahoma,” Lendrz answered. 

“When did you decide to come to the DWMA?”

“Listen, you don’t have to make small talk just for my sake. I’m fine with just walking in silence.”

Maka humpfed. “Fine.”

They continued down without talking again. As they neared the bottom, Lendrz’s foot slipped and he stumbled forward. Before Lendrz could fall, Maka quickly moved and steadied him, but his backpack slipped from his shoulder. His backpack tumbled down the rest of the stairs, spilling its content as it went.

Lendrz looked down at his backpack in panic. Among the pencils and pens were his books arcane in nature and his notes covered in Witch Text. He kneeled and began shoveling everything back in his backpack as quickly as he could.

Maka kneeled beside him to help. She picked up a few stray papers, but she paused, noticing the odd text and equations written on them.

“What is this? I don’t recognize anything on these pages,” Maka asked as she picked up more.

Lendrz snatched the paper Maka was holding and stuffed it into his backpack. He quickly gathered up the rest of his belongings and stuffed them into his backpack as well.

“They’re from, uh, a book. A fantasy book,” Lendrz quickly stammered out as he stood up with his backpack clutched close to his chest.

“What book? Those markings looked interesting,” Maka said as she stood up with him.

“I’m too embarrassed to say,” Lendrz said nervously. “It’s been a long day, and I’ve been traveling a lot. Right now, I just want to head home and get a good day- I mean, night’s rest.”

Lendrz turned and half ran, half walked away. 

Maka watched Lendrz go. “He sure is an odd one,” she muttered to himself. 

As Maka moved to leave, she noticed a sheet of paper Lendrz had left behind. She picked up the paper and turned it over in her hand. Both sides were covered in odd markings and equations. Even a straight-A student like Maka couldn’t decipher their meaning.

Maka looked up to call Lendrz, but he had already disappeared. Shrugging, she left with the sheet. Maybe when class started, she could give it back to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz sighed as retrieved a slip of paper with an address on it. He made sure to zip the backpack as tightly as he could. 

“I really should have dropped off my stuff before heading to the DWMA. That was too close,” Lendrz muttered to himself. “Hopefully, that will be the first and last hiccup in this plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we both know that's not gonna happen.
> 
> Now that I'm writing a Soul Eater fic, I realized how there's not much of an explanation for magic. I had to just come up with some of my own ideas for the most part. I'm kind of at a crossroad here. I'm thinking about incorporating Soul Eater NOT into this fic too. As I write this, I haven't watched the anime or read the manga. It's a prequel and doesn't have anything game-changing for the story, but it does have the last Gorgon sister. I'm also toying the idea of giving Lendrz a partner. It would be a good path to have him open up. Again, this makes me think about the NOT story. I know the protagonist, Tsugumi Harudori, of NOT is a weapon, and she has two Meisters. I've been thinking about adding Lendrz as a third. I know she does actually get a third meister at the very end of the manga but appears so late she has basically no characterization, so replacing her with Lendrz wouldn't be a huge issue. Ultimately, I'm leaning to have Lendrz join Tsugumi's team.
> 
> Anyway, next up on the docket is a chapter of To Begin From Magic. (I gotta remember to change that title.)
> 
> P.S A happy late Chrismas and an early New Year to all.


	3. A Close Call with Death

Lendrz looked up at the seemingly endless stairs leading to the school. He made a point to not go anywhere near the school since his first visit. The city itself was surprisingly normal, aside from the architecture. There were shops and restaurants like any other city. Medusa had arranged for him to stay off-campus in an apartment. The school gave the students an allowance to feed themselves and day to day necessities. He used most of said allowance to purchase a small collection of clothes. Currently, he wore a purple hoodie with black jeans. 

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. His Soul Protect was flawless. He should have nothing to worry about. And yet… if he even made one mistake, that would be the end for him. 

“Come on,” Lendrz muttered to himself. “Just go on and get it over with. Soon enough, this school will be in ruins, and you can live your life in peace.”

With that, Lendrz stepped onto the stairs and began the long climb up. As he climbed, he noticed a figure struggling to make their way up the stairs ahead of him. He was climbing at a much faster rate than the figure and he quickly caught up to them.

Said figure was a girl around his age hunched over her knees, panting. The girl was slim and gentle looking. Her dark blue hair reached down to her shoulders. Her matching eyes were looking down at the ground as she tried to catch her breath. She wore a black long-sleeved blouse with a frilly black skirt. Some kind of white death-themed ascot was wrapped around her neck with a thick white collar.

There was plenty of space for Lendrz to walk around her, and he began to do just that. He spared a glance at the girl as he passed. This was a candidate that would train to hunt him? How could this girl even stand a chance against him? He couldn’t help but pause.

“How can you hope to join the DWMA if you can’t even climb the stairs to the school,” Lendrz said harshly. 

The girl’s head snapped up and looked at Lendr with wide eyes. “Huh?” was all she could muster. 

“You heard me. How can you expect to succeed here if you can’t even make it here if you can’t even climb the stairs? Talk about failing at the first hurdle. Honestly, if this is too much for you, you should just cut your losses and go home,” Lendrz continued.

With that finished, he turned back to the school, he continued on his way without sparing a look back to see the girl’s reaction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz leaned against the back wall of the room. The room was devoid of any furniture. A small group of around fifteen students. A young, dark-skinned teacher stood at the front of the room with a podium and a chalkboard. He was muscular, but not overly bulky and handsome in a youthful way. The white undershirt he wore revealed his arms, covered in tattoos that coiled around his arms like vines. Shoulder length dreads were tucked into his white headband. Simple jeans made up the rest of his outfit. 

Idly tapping his foot against the wooden floor, Lednrz waited for the teacher to start the orientation. The first day of class was dedicated to trying to pair up the Weapons and Meisters. A Meister name tag was pinned to his hoodie.

The door opened and Lendrz looked up to see the new arrival. It was the girl he talked to on the stairs.

_Looks like she actually managed to make it up. I’m actually surprised. She looked ready to pass out when I saw her._

Quickly losing interest, Lendrz looked back at the floor, waiting for the teacher to begin class.

“Alright, that should be everyone,” the teacher said as he took his place behind the podium. ‘Welcome to the DWMA. I’m Sid, one of the teachers here.”

Lendrz finally stepped away from the wall and stood closer to the front along with the rest of the students.

“Some of you can transform into weapons,” Sid continued. “And some of you wish to be Meisters to fight with those weapons.”

By this point, Lendrz began tuning out the teacher. He already knew the basics from Medusa, and if whatever she was planning succeeded, then none of this would matter in the end. It wasn’t until the door opened again that he snapped back to attention. 

To his surprise, it was Maka and another boy, presumably, her partner. Where his partner was neat and professional, he was laid back and a bit sloppy. If Lendrz hadn’t seen the two together, he would have never guessed they were partners. The boy had jagged, silvery-white hair and red eyes. He wore a high collard coat over a white dress shirt with black pants.

_Strange, I thought the people of this world didn’t have eyes that matched their blood._

“These are two of our senior students here. Maka Albarn, and her weapon Soul Eater,” Sid explained, gesturing to the students. 

Soul looks bored and uninterested while Maka looked over the new students. When her eyes crossed the girl Lendrz met, she gave a small smile. When she saw Lendrz, her smile turned into a small frown. He couldn’t blame her. Their first memory wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Go ahead and give the demonstration now,” Sid said. 

The duo nodded. Soul was enveloped by a silvery-blue light. The light twisted through the air towards Maka’s opened hand. Once the light was on her hand, it began to take shape, forming a long handle and a blade. The glow faded, revealing a large scythe Maka held in one hand.

The scythe had a simple, long steel handle. The heel had a large red metal eye on it, and the blade was black and red in a zig-zag pattern. The large weapon dwarfed the girl as she placed the bottom of the weapon on the floor. 

Lendrz and the rest of the class pressed up against the wall, giving the Meister some space for her demonstration. 

“It’s important to remember that the Weapon and the Meister are both people. That scythe isn’t a thing,” Sid explained. 

Maka stepped into the center of the room and held the scythe flat horizontally, one hand on top and the other flat, supporting the other end from the bottom. 

“If we acknowledge each other will and sync our wavelengths, fighting together is as easy as breathing,” Maka said as she spun the blade in the air and held out a single hand. The scythe balanced on the back of her hand perfectly. 

“Just watch,” Maka said as the scythe began to spin around her hand without her moving a finger. Within seconds, the scythe picked up enough speed to become a silver blur, spinning around her hand. The spinning scythe moved so fast it blew Maka’s pigtails back. With a flick of her wrist, she grabbed onto the weapon. She kept the scythes’ momentum going as she seemed to dance with the weapon. The scythe spun around her body at blinding speeds. Lendrz’s eyes couldn’t keep up with the silver blur spinning around her body.

“That’s incredible,” a voice beside Lendrz said. “It’s like their dancing.”

Lendrz had to agree with the sentiment. The way she moved; it was like she was moving to an invisible tune. Maka moved to the front of the room and finished her demonstration with one last flourish of her scythe. Once the demonstration was finished, she bowed to the students. 

A thin line appeared straight down the middle of the podium. Sid moved to the podium, but it fell apart before he could do anything. With another flash of light, the scythe disappeared and Soul stood beside Maka. 

“So, that’s what a Weapon and Meister pair looks like. I hope this helps. You’ll learn more as the class progresses, but for now, it’s best to try to listen to your gut. That’s all for today. Class dismissed,” Sid said to the class.

Lendrz glanced the pair. The way Maka moved was amazing. With how fast and skilled she was, Maka posed a serious threat.

_If that’s what an experienced student can do, I would hate to see what full-fledged graduate can do._

Maka gave one last look at the students before turning to leave with Soul. Lendrz watched the pair leave. Medusa was right. This school was dangerous if it can churn out students like this. The students around Lendrz began to head out the door. Looking out one of the hall’s windows, Lendrz thought about his first day.

_One day down, who knows how many more. Hopefully, I can fly under the radar until Medusa carries out her plan. Once this school is in ruins, I can live the rest of my life free of Meisters and Weapons._

As Lendrz was about to head to the exit, someone called out to him from behind.

“Hey! You from the stairs!”

Turning around, Lendrz saw the girl from the stairs again. The corner of his lips twisted into the beginning of a scowl as he looked at the girl. This time, she seemed to have tied her hair into pigtails… not unlike Maka’s…

_So, that’s it, huh._

“You again? If this is about what I told you earlier, then you don’t have to take it personally. I was just stating facts,” Lendrz shot back.

The girl flinched back like she was struck, but she just as quickly found her resolve. 

“I know I might not look like much right now, but I’ll show you. I’ll train hard and get stronger,” the girl said firmly as she looked him dead in the eye.

Raising an eyebrow, Lendrz replied coldly, “Talk is cheap. Anyone can say that they’ll be great one day. I’ll believe you when you actually do something, anything memorable.”

Again, the girl looked like she was struck. This time, someone else stepped forward to Lendrz. This girl was some kind of a combination of a white long-sleeved blouse and a frilly dress. Her long, silky blond hair reached down to her waist and a white hairband was tucked behind her hair. A dazzling blue brooch was pinned to her collar. Her vibrate blue eyes glared at him and her delicate features were twisted into a frown. She stood between Lendrz and the girl with her hands on her hips.

Quickly growing more and more annoyed, Lendrz crossed his arms and glared at the newcomer. “Now, what do you want? This doesn’t concern you, and I suggest you leave.”

The girl looked unimpressed. “You boorish fool,” the girl said. 

Lendrz’s eye twitched. 

“You have a lot of nerve,” he said. 

“And what about you,” the blond said, jabbing her finger in his direction.

“What about me?”

“You walk in here and berate one of your fellow students. Have you forgotten that you’re in the NOT class as well,” she continued. 

“I haven’t said anything that isn’t true,” Lendrz shot back. “She looked like she was going to pass out just climbing up here!”

The blond glanced behind her at the blue-haired girl. “Harudori, that’s your name, correct? Your name tag said you’re a weapon. Please transform now.”

And just like that, the girl deflated. She looked down at her shoes. 

“I can’t do a full transformation. I don’t really have the hang of it yet,” the girl said softly. 

“Really, now,” Lendrz said, raising an eyebrow. “You can’t even transform? Not much of Weapon then, are you?”

“Now would be a good time to transform,” blondie said, turning back to Lendrz. 

“I told you, I can’t,” Harudori said, downtrodden.

“How disappointing,” blondie said. “I heard about commoners; they’re supposed to be proud, hearty people. But… that doesn’t seem to describe you. Most unfortunate,” blondie said to her like she was stating a fact.

“So, is that it? Are we done here? Can I leave now without anyone else pestering me?” Lendrz asked sarcastically.

Before Lendrz could take a step past the girls, Sid called to Harudori from the classroom’s door. Two other students stood beside him. “Try to picture it. Imagine the sharp blade that lies dormant within your soul and awaken it. Do battle for the sake of what you know to be right. You are a student of the DWMA!”

_Battle? I know duals are common in this school, but I didn’t expect this to escalate so quickly. This is the opposite of flying under the radar... Whatever! Chances are, she won’t even be able to even transform, and that will be the end of it._

Harudori closed her eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. Lendrz silently waited for her to proclaim that she was unable to transform so he could finally leave. To his surprise, she began to glow bright pink. Lendrz eyes narrowed as he waited for the light to intensify.

Harudori seemed just as surprised at the transformation as Lendrz was. Her eyes snapped open and widened. Panicked squeals escaped her throat as she began to lift off the ground. Almost blinding pink light wrapped around her as she began to loser her form. Soon, the light shot in front of the blonde before it solidified into a long, white halberd with a purple x on the blade.

Taking a step back, Lendrz examined the Weapon and the Meister. Panic began to creep into his mind before he noticed one particular detail about the halberd. A smile spread across Lendrz face.

“It looks like you didn’t follow our teacher’s instructions well enough. Sid said to imagine a sharp blade. You’re as dull as could be,” Lendrz taunted.

Blondie didn’t heed his taunts. “Let’s begin!” she cried as she charged forward, quickly jabbing him.

Lendrz was quickly forced to back up. Unlike Maka’s demonstration, blondie’s movements were simple, but they were fast. Fast enough where Lendrz was forced to back peddle away from the girl. She pressed her advantage and raised the halberd high to overwhelm him with one big attack. 

Big mistake.

With one swift movement, Lendrz raised a hand and caught the halberd by the blade, stopping all the momentum behind it without budging a single inch. Surprise was written clean across blondie’s face. 

Lendrz smiled at the still human girl. “You know, from those few moves, you seemed pretty talented. Too bad about this edge, huh. I definitely wouldn’t have tried this if Harudori had some bite to her.”

Blondie tried to pull Harudori from Lendrz’s grasp, but he didn’t loosen his hold. “Yeah, that isn’t going to work. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve won this battle.”

Lendrz released the weapon and blondie stumbled back. Without saying another word, he walked past her. A flash of light behind him signaled Harudori had transformed back. Before he could leave, Harudori called out to him one last time. 

“Wait!”

Pausing, Lendrz cast a sidelong glance at the girl. “What now?”

Harudori stood with her fist balled into fist and determination in her eyes. “I know I might not be much now, but I’ll work hard. One day I’ll be a great Weapon. I’ll be so great, even you’ll have to admit it!”

“Is that so? Then just remember, talk is cheap. Until next time.”

Lendrz resumed his walk. This time no one else tried to stop him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long day for Lendrz, despite the short school day. He had some errands to run, including purchasing some spare clothes in case his were damaged in another duel or training. He also went grocery shopping. In both his hands, he held a bundle of plastic bags. Looking up at the smiling moon, Lendrz thought back to the events of the day.

_I really could have handled that better. I definitely drew too much attention to myself, especially on my first day. I should focus on avoiding getting any more attention… Maybe I was a tad too harsh on Harudori… then again, she would reap my soul without hesitation if she had the chance, and I do intend to help Medusa destroy this school. Speaking of which, Medusa hasn't exactly told me how she plans to take down the school. I’ll ask her tomorrow._

A nearby meow caught his attention. He turned around to see a small purple cat. It was a small purple thing with a long curved tail. A large witch hat with a crooked tip and white cloth wrapped around the base sat on her head. Upon its neck was a black collar with a large circular tag. There was no name written on it, only three small triangles forming a half-circle. A pair of intelligent yellow eyes looked back at Lendrz with curiosity as it sat on the sidewalk. 

“Er, hello,” Lendrz said as he looked around for the owner. “Are you alone out here?”

The cat meowed at him. Cautiously, Lendrz walked up to the cat. 

“It looks like you’re all alone,” Lendrz said as he stood before the cat. 

Again, the cat meowed in agreement. 

“Well, what do you want from me?”

Instead of meowing back, the cat padded towards him. Once it reached his legs, the cat climbed up his pants leg and curled around his shoulders, using his neck as a post.

“So, this is happening,” Lendrz muttered under his breath as the cat purred contentedly. 

Shrugging, Lendrz turned and continued on his way home, not bothering to shake off his new passenger. 

The apartment tower Lendrz lived in was a fair distance from his school, but not too far that walking to school would be an issue. The apartment Lendrz stayed in was simple, but cozy. Lendrz climbed the stairs to one of the higher floors where he was situated. Once he reached his apartment, he unlocked the door and stepped inside with the cat still wrapped around his neck.

The apartment was sparkly furnished. The small living room had a couch, a coffee table, and a small tv facing them. The only two doors in the apartment led to a small bedroom and bathroom. While the apartment was a step down from his hive, the most disappointing part was the downgraded kitchen. His new kitchen was so small and nowhere near as well equipped. 

Once he stepped inside, the cat jumped off his neck and made itself comfortable on the couch. 

“I suppose you can stick around for a while,” Lendrz said as he set down the bags of clothing before closing and locking the door. “I need to put all this away.”

The cat meowed again but did not move from the couch. Shrugging, he entered the kitchen and began storing his groceries aside from a select few ingredients he planned to use now. After thoroughly washing his hands. Lendrz began to unwrap a butcher paper packet of salmon filets. Where a city got fresh fish at a somewhat reasonable price, he had no idea. 

“Meow!”

Lendrz turned to see the cat sitting just behind him. It stared intently at the slices of fish he had just unwrapped. He looked from the cat to the fish. 

“Ah, I see now. You must have a strong nose,” Lendrz said as he placed the unwrapped fish on a nearby plate. “Don’t worry, now. I’ll cook you up a couple.”

“Meow~!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yawning, Lendrz placed the last cleaned dish into the cupboard. The cat laid on its back on the couch, seemingly fast asleep. Lendrz couldn’t stop a small smile from crossing his lips. The little furry moocher looked adorable asleep.

“You have the right idea,” Lendrz said as he walked to his room, shutting off the lights as he went. Like the rest of the apartment, his room was sparsely furnished. A bed was pushed against the corner with a small end table. On that end table was a familiar bottle of pills.

Lendrz sat on the end of his bed and grabbed the bottle. He unscrewed the top and shook out a few pills into his other hand. He looked at the small white capsules in his hand before downing them with a single gulp. It wasn’t long after that when he began to feel the effects. Yawning, Lendrz climbed into bed and nestled under the covers. He missed his recuperacoon, but there was no sense in something you couldn’t change. Soon, he couldn’t keep his eyes open and he fell into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz’s second day at the DWMA was uneventful so far. He was currently sitting in the back of a small lectern with only a handful of other students. Among those students were the two girls from the other day. A brown-haired girl seemed to have joined the pair. Surprisingly, they didn’t try to interact with him aside from a few glances. 

The long wooden tables were curved towards the small podium where Sid stood at. The windows in the back lit the room well. Lendrz was seated at the back, resting the side of his head on his palm, idly watching Sid teach. So far, Sid hadn’t begun teaching anything that Medusa hadn’t taught him herself. The door opening caught Lendrz’s attention. He looked up to see two students enter the classroom. 

The first student was a boy around his age dressed in a suit and tie. A small Shinigami mask was pinned to his tie. His raven-black spikey hair covered his left eye. A pair of glasses rested comfortably on his nose. The one visible eye revealed an intense blue color. 

Where the first student was sharply dressed and neat, the other was the opposite. The collar on his white dress shirt undone and his tie hung loosely from his neck. His blond hair shaggy and unkempt, like he just rolled out of bed. His easy-going green eyes scanned the room as he walked into the class, nervously scratching the back of his head. 

“Hey, Sid, sorry we’re so late,” the blonde apologized. 

“I just couldn’t tear him away from the arcade,” the black-haired teen added with a small smile.

“Akane!” the blond exclaimed, with wide eyes.

“The arcade is it?” Sid asked with irritation creeping into his voice as he stepped up to the late students. “What are you, Clay, twelve?”

The rest of his conversation was too silent for Lendrz to hear. Once Sid was done berating them, he turned back to the rest of the class.

“Looks like that’s all the time we have for today. If Akane and Clay want to be taught, then they should be here on time,” Sid announced to the class. 

With that done, Lendrz stood up to leave the class straight away. However, today felt different. As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, he felt odd, like he was being watched. Frowning, Lendrz turned around but found no one. Shrugging, he continued on his way, but the feeling persisted. Every time he stopped to look around him, he found nothing. All he accomplished in doing was getting a few odd glances from the other students. 

Eventually, Lendrz stepped out of the school but the feeling persisted. Other students who were heading home walked around him, but none of them were staring at him. Then, he heard the sound of distant shouting. Lendrz and the rest of the students looked around for the source.

“Hey, look! It’s Black Star again,” a student near Lendrz shouted. 

Lendrz looked to where the student was pointing. Above, a student was standing on one of the school’s many spikes. He seemed to be shouting something, but Lendrz couldn’t hear anything he was saying. The speck continued to shout something off until he was seemingly done before leaving off the spike and plunging to the ground below. Despite how high up he was, no one batted an eye, so Lendrz assumed he had some kind of plan. 

When the mystery student slammed into the ground, he landed on his feet without an issue instead of turning into a bloody splatter. He squatted with his head down and his weapon in his hands. In his right, he held a double-edged scythe. A chain joined a smaller scythe in his other hand. Both were razor-sharp and gleamed in the sunlight. 

Lendrz narrowed his eyes and tensed up. Whoever this was, they were certainly an EAT student. 

Black Star slowly stood up and looked at Lendrz with a confident, wide smile. Now that Lendrz could see him clearly, he realized he was a bit on the shorter side. He wore a pair of black and white trousers with black steel-toed shoes. A star was imprinted on his shoes. He wore a sleeveless black shirt with a tall, wide collar. A faint star tattoo was on his right shoulder. Fingerless grey gloves protected his hands with thick wrist guards. Again, stars decorated the back of his gloved. His bright blue spikey hair reminded Lendrz of a star. He looked a little younger than Lendrz and thin, but his arms were muscular. His intense green eyes glared directly at Lendrz.

“You think you’re some kind of big man!?” the youth demanded, point the scythe at Lendrz.

Still tensed, Lendrz couldn’t help scoffing. “Excuse me, but I have no idea who you are or what you’re talking about.”

It appeared that was the wrong thing to say. “You think pretending is going to get you out of this!?” he shouted, shaking the scythe at Lendrz.

Lendrz watched the Meister closer for any sudden movements. “Look, I have no idea what’s going on in that head of yours, but I want no part in it. Whatever you’re planning, forget it.”

If the Meister heard Lendrz, he ignored him. “They say you beat a Meister and a Weapon with nothing but your bare hands. With a stunt like that, it’s obvious you’re trying to be the big man on campus. Well, tough luck! As long as I’m around, I’m the only big man on campus!” he finished. jabbing his thumb at himself with a smile. 

_I thought that might come to bite me in the but later, but not like this._

Lendrz raised his hands to show he meant no harm. “I only did that because that Weapon was dull and the Meister was a NOT student. As you can see, you and your Weapon don’t match the description.”

Before Black Star could answer, the weapon in his hands glowed and transformed into a girl beside him. The girl was a little older than her partner. Silky black hair framed her pretty face nicely and a long ponytail stuck up in the air and trailed down her back. She wore a long, pale yellow, sleeveless dress on her mature figure. It had a slit along the right side, revealing her long legs. She wore white boots and a black stocking on the slit’s side. Two riveted sashes were wrapped around her waist, one loose and one tight. A large yellow star was on the dress’s right side. Her arms were covered in black and grey bandages and a pair of grey arm guards. Her kind dark brown eyes looked at her partner with concern.

“I’m sorry Black Star, but I can’t help you fight him if that’s true,” she said to Black Star. 

Black Star’s smile only widened. “Don’t worry, Tsubaki. A big man like me can handle himself just fine.”

Lendrz grit his teeth. “We don’t have a staff member to overlook this duel. We can’t have a dual without anyone to supervise.”

“Did someone call me?” Sid’s voice asked from behind.

Lendrz turned to see his teacher walk up to the pair. Lendrz’s mind raced to find an excuse to get out of the dual. 

“No, that’s alright, Sid,” Lendrz said hastily. “I would prefer to avoid getting into a fight.”

Instead of answering right away, Sid placed his hand on Lendrz’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. Sid smiled and said, “I know you have some talent in you, and I know you’re not going to realize it by not pushing yourself. Yeah, fighting an EAT student might seem overwhelming, especially on your second day, but I’ll be watching closely to make sure nothing goes too far. I won’t let a student squander their potential, especially not one of mine. That’s not the kind of man I am.”

Lendrz hid his grimace as best he could. Beads of sweat bolted down his face, but Sid didn’t seem to notice. Hesitantly, Lendrz turned back to Black Star who was eagerly waiting with a smile on his face and his fists raised, ready to fight. His partner had moved back off to give Black Star some space. The students in the courtyard formed a large circle around Lendrz and Black Star.

_It looks like I’m not going to get out of this without raising some questions._

“Alright,” Lendrz said. “If you want to fight, then you got one.”

Black Star pumped his fist towards the sky. “Yahoo!” he cheered. “It’s time for the big man to win another fight.”

Lendrz didn’t bother responding. He raised his hands and prepared himself for Black Star’s attack. The bluette didn’t waste any time. He charged forward directly towards Lendrz. He closed the distance at remarkable speeds. Lendrz braced himself for a speedy barrage. Once he was a few feet, he jumped high into the air.

“Yahoo!” Black Star cheered as he poised for a powerful kick aimed directly at his opponent's head. 

Unfortunately for him, he jumped so high in the air that he had Lendrz plenty of time to react. Lendrz cocked his fist back and readied himself for Black Star to drop within range. Black Star plummeted to Lendrz, bringing his foot down in a powerful kick, but the troll was ready for him. 

Rolling his torso under Black Star’s kick, Lendrz slammed his fist into Black Star’s unprotected stomach. The blow forced any air Black Star had in his lungs out with a gasp and sent him flying several feet back. When he hit the ground, Black Star tumbled along the floor before coming to a rest as a tangle of limbs.

Lendrz watched the drowned student, ready for him to get back up, but Black Star stayed down. The students surrounding them began to mutter amongst themselves, but Lendrz was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to listen.

_So, that’s it? This is an EAT student? If this is the best the school can offer, then I have nothing to worry about._

Right at the Sorcerer was about to call out to see if Black Star was still alive, the bluette turned to lean on his back before leaping into his feet in a single move. Black Star smiled at Lendrz with a smile and a small streak of blood dripping from the corner of his lips. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. 

“I have to admit, that was a big move, but not big enough to take down this big man,” Black Star began, the smile never fading from his face. “At least I know you're big enough to put up a good fight.”

Lendrz bared his teeth and readied himself for another bout.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Soul! Soul! It figures that slacker is late for everything except leaving class,” Maka grumbled to herself as she exited the school. 

She was surprised to see a crowd forming around something. The students were too closely packed together to see past them. She scanned the crowd for a familiar head of white hair. She found that head of hair next to Sid and Tsubaki. Maka quickly marched over to the group.

“Soul! What’s so important that you had to ditch me in the classroom,” Maka demanded as she pushed her way to her partner. 

Soul turned to Maka with his usual lazy smile. “Hey, Maka,” he greeted. “Just watching the big man doing the usual.”

“Again? Who’s he fighting this time?” Maka sighed as she moved to get a view.

“Dunno. I think it’s a guy from the NOT class,” Soul explained as he moved to let Maka get closer to the front. “He looks like he’s holding up alright.”

Maka froze when she saw the NOT student. It was the same student she met before school began, Lendrz. Her classmate stood with his arms raised and Black Star a few feet away from him. The bluette charged towards Lendrz and landed a powerful combo of punches and kicks against Lendrz. He did his best to dodge and what he couldn’t, he blocked. The blows that slipped through his defenses were powerful, but Lendrz shrugged them off without issue.

“He’s doing well, so far,” Sid said as he watched the duel closely. 

“What do you mean by that?” Maka asked, turning her head to face her teacher.

“Watch Lendrz closely,” Sid said, nodding towards his direction. “His dodges are slow and clumsy. He can barely get out of the way of any of Black Star’s attacks. His stance and blocks are shoddy at best. Black Star is clearly the superior fighter. The only thing keeping Lendrz in the fight is his strength and endurance.”

Maka looked back to fight. With her teacher’s help, she noticed what he noticed as well. 

“All that being said, Black Star isn’t the only one not taking this fight seriously,” Sid continued. “Look at the fight with your Soul Perception.”

Nodding, Maka activated her Soul Perception and focused on Lendrz’s Soul. As a manifestation of a person’s self, every Soul was unique. Lendrz’s Soul was a dark blue and about the size and shape of a basketball, which was impressive, considering most Souls were the size of a person’s fist. Like every soul, it bears a strong resemblance to its owner. 

The Soul had his long, hair and his features. Like Lendrz, the Soul’s teeth were constantly bared slightly. However, the Soul’s teeth were razor sharp. 

“What am I looking for?” Maka asked her teacher. 

“Pay attention to Lendrz’s Soul every time he gets hit,” Sid continued. “You’ll have to look closely if you want to see it.”

Maka nodded again and looked closely as Black Star snuck a kick through Lendrz’s block and into his side. Once the bluette’s attack struck, a small, almost unnoticeable flare of red erupted from the center of his Soul. The corners of his Soul’s lips briefly twisted into a snarl before just as quickly settling down.

“It looks like he’s trying to keep himself under control,” Maka noted.

“Correct. Good eyes, Maka. I’ll make sure to stop the fight before it gets out of hand. That’s the kind of man I am,” Sid said, his eyes never leaving the fight.

Maka continued to watch the fight, focusing intently on the new student.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz growled as Black Star managed to land yet another uppercut on him. The individual blows didn’t hurt him very much, but they were beginning to get on his nerves. Lendrz swiped at the student, but Black Star had already jumped back and was getting ready for another attack before Lendrz even got close at hitting him. 

“Okay, this is starting to get on my nerves,” Lendrz snarled as he glowered at the bluette. 

Black Star smiled. “It’s a good thing I’m going to end this with one last big move!” he boasted as he pointed at Lendrz. 

Lendrz didn’t bother answering as readied himself for Black Star’s next attack. Black Star charged forward with a smile on his face. Lendrz brought his fist back, ready for the bluette to move within range. Right as Black Star stepped right in front of him, Lendrz let his punch fly, but as usual Black Star was too fast. Black Star ducked under his attack and threw himself at him with his right elbow pointed right at Lendrz. His left hand was wrapped around his head so that his palm faced Lendrz as well. Black Star’s shoulder slammed into his chest followed by his elbow and palm.

“Black Star Big Wave!” Black Star shouted as his attack landed. 

The physical attack didn’t phase him like his other blows, but this attack had something more to it. A massive shockwave generated from the point of contact, slamming into Lendrz. Symbols floated in the air around Lendrz like moats of light, but he was too distracted by the mind-numbing pain that wracked his entire body. The shockwave sent Lendrz sailing through the air before he landed on his back with a heavy thud. 

The shockwave had knocked the air straight out of Lendrz’s lungs, and he struggled to get air in them once again. Cold liquid flooded his mouth. He was about to spit it up before he realized it was his blood. He forced the blood down his throat. The last thing he needed was to spit up a mouthful of purple blood in front of everyone. After all that, Lendrz was finally able to gulp down fresh air into his lungs.

The pain began to fade, and it was replaced by anger. He could faintly hear Black Star gloating, and that only stoked his anger. Lendrz began to climb to his feet as his rage grew and grew. 

_That runt likes to fight? Let’s see how he likes to fight once I break every bone in his body!_

Right as Lendrz was on his feet, he was surprised to see Sid standing between him and Black Star. 

“I think that’s enough,” Sid said sternly as he looked into Lendrz’s eyes. “This is just a friendly duel, after all.”

Lendrz took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The entire fight, his rage grew and grew. Sid had stopped the fight just as he reached his tipping point. A moment later, and he would have lost it. Once he calmed down enough to compose himself, he opened his eyes. 

“Yeah, just a friendly duel,” Lendrz echoed begrudgingly.

“Good. It’s glad we understand each other,” Sid said as he smiled reassuringly. “Now, I think I see someone who wants to talk to you.”

“Huh?” Lendrz asked as he turned around.

A tall man with wavy, shoulder-length hair walked towards him. He wore a sharp black suit and a dark green dress shirt. His tie was actually a large cross. A bored look sat on his intense, youthful features. Lendrz had never seen this man on campus, but that wasn’t saying much, considering this was his second day.

“Kid, the headmaster would like to see you,” the man said flatly.

“The headmaster!?” Lendrz said to himself. “Death wants to see me?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that the excitement was over, the crowd quickly dispersed, eager to home. Many of them chatted amongst themselves about the fight as they left. One student, however, was actually going back into the school. 

“Hey, Maka, where you going?” Soul asked his partner with one foot on the stairs leading down.

“Sorry, Soul, but I’ll catch up with you later. I have something I forgot to do!” Maka replied as she entered the school. 

“Fine, but don’t forget it’s your turn to cook dinner tonight!” Soul called.

In her hand, Maka held the same slip of paper Lendrz had dropped before school began. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweat dripped down the back of Lendrz’s neck and his fingers fidgeted with each other as he followed the redhead. If he noticed Lendrz’s distress, he didn’t comment on it.

“What exactly does Death want with me?” Lendrz asked, struggling to keep his voice steady.

“Just wait until we reach the Death Room. Everything will be explained there,” the redhead said dismissively.

_Is this it? Am I being marched to my death?_

Finally, the redhead glanced back at him. “Don’t worry, kid. I know meeting Death for the first time can be nerve-racking, but he’s really a nice guy. Just take a deep breath and relax.”

Lendrz followed his instructions. Despite the situation, he did feel a little better. 

“We’re here,” the redhead announced as he walked up to a massive door with a red frame. It looked like it was made of dark purple metal. The Shinigami’s mask hung near the top. Think white embossing decorated the door. A heavy iron Shinagami knocker hung within arm’s reach. 

The redhead knocked on the iron door using said knocker. The heavy thuds of metal on metal echoed through the empty halls. Once the last knock sounded, the door opened to reveal and seemingly endless hallway of blood-red tori gates. Upon further inspection, Lendrz realized the gates had massive guillotine blades affixed to the top. The bright light reflected off the heavy blades. Between the gaps of the gates, Lendrz could see vast dessert and a bright blue sky with wispy white clouds. Littered throughout the dessert were crude wooden crosses embedded into the ground. Grave markers.

The redhead continued, unfazed by the sight. After swallowing the lump in his throat, Lendrz followed reluctantly. As they walked, Lendrz looked up to try and find the sun, but he couldn’t catch a glimpse of it between the gates. Perhaps this room was actually some kind of pocket dimension, like the Witch Realm. Under less strenuous circumstances, Lendrz might have found this more interesting.

Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. Lendrz was relieved to be free of the weight of the guillotines hanging overhead, but now he had to deal with Death himself. He matched the drawing he had seen a while ago. A tall solid shadow stood on one crooked leg. His torso almost looked like a coat and the solid shadow that formed his head looked like a twisted top hat. Death’s hollow eyes looked at Lendrz as he waited for him on a small, circular podium. Behind Death, a large window with a green metal frame towered over even him. A trio of candleholders stuck out from the top of the mirrors. Large well-used candles were placed inside them. The dessert and grave markers stretched out endlessly around them. Oddly enough, windows hung overhead, looking into the sky outside. 

Death watched silently as Lendrz climbed the podium and stood before him. Lendrz struggled to keep his face from showing the fear he felt. 

“Here’s the kid you wanted, Lord Death,” the redhead said as he took his place beside Death. 

“Yes, thank you, Spirit,” Death said in a dopey, high pitched voice and nodded to the redhead.

Death turned back to Lendrz and leaned towards him. “Now, do you know why I called you in here today?”

“Er,” Lendrz began, doing everything in his power to stop himself from bolting away. “I really don’t know, sir.”

Death waved one of his blocky hands in a casual gesture. “No need to be so formal. Just call me Death~”

“Okay… Death, why did you want to talk to me? I’m just a NOT student,” Lendrz stammered out. 

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. From what Sid told me, you seem to have a lot of talent that’s being unrealized in the NOT class. From what we saw in your duel with Black Star, he was right. Are you sure you checked the right box on the application?” Death asked cheerfully.

Lendrz’s mind raced to try and find a logical answer to the question. “It’s, uh, I’m new to the whole Meister thing, and I don’t have a lot of actual combat experience. I also don’t have a partner,” he explained quickly.

Death rubbed the bottom of his mask with a blocky hand. “Hmm, those are some good points, but it seems like a waste to have you spend all your time in the NOT class.”

“I think I have an idea,” Spirit said.

“And what would that be, Spirit?”

“You could have him stay in the NOT class for his studies, but let him join in on EAT training courses. Maybe he can even tag along on a few missions- at least until he ready to join the EAT class fully. Or get a partner. Whichever comes first,” Spirit explained.

“Not a bad idea, Spirit,” Death said thoughtfully. “Well, what do you say, Lendrz?”

“Well, I’d be stupid to turn down an opportunity like this, so I agree,” Lendrz said with a false smile.

Death clapped his hands together. “Great!”

“So, if that’s all…” Lendrz began.

“Actually, there is one more thing before you go,” Death said before Lendrz could move.

Lendrz cursed internally and stopped in his tracks.

“You see, on top of having our students protect the world, we also take pride in having our students help out at a local level. For some, Meister and Demon Weapons are just as terrifying as Kishins and Witches.”

Lendrz barely managed to suppress his lips from twitching into a frown. 

“So, it’s important that we have our students out there, showing the world they’re not so different. I couldn’t help but notice you don’t have anything like that listed on your paperwork,” Death went on.

“I thought extracurricular stuff like that was optional,” Lendrz replied.

“It is, but we like to encourage our students to take part in the local community. Spirit, isn’t there an opening at the Death Bucks Cafe?” Death asked his assistant. 

“As a matter of fact, they do. I’ll make a call and make an arrangement,” Spirit answered with a nod. 

“Wonderful~ Now, you’re dismissed, Lendrz. Just make sure you go to Medusa for a quick check-up. Black Star is one of our brightest pupils, and he can pack quite a punch,” Death said with a wave of his blocky hand. 

“Medusa!” Spirit interjected. “Hey, kid, do you need some help finding her office? This is your second day, so you probably need some help!”

“Reaper Chop!”

Before Spirit could say another word, the Reaper slammed one of his large hands into the top of Spirit’s skull with so much force it brought him to the ground with his limbs sprawling. Lendrz could have sworn he saw some blood gushing from his head.

“I’m sure Medusa has more important things to do than being pestered by you,” Death said harshly, his eye holes narrowing into a glare. His gaze softened when he turned back to Lendrz. “That being said, do you know where Medusa’s office is?”

Lendrz’s eyes were fixed onto Spirit’s downed form. “I did actually need some help, but it looks like he’s out of it.”

“You’re right, I may have hit him a bit too hard, but that’s alright. Someone who can help you should be here right about now,” Death said, looking up at the entrance. 

Following his gaze, Lendrz was surprised to see Maka enter the room. 

“Maka, just the student I wanted to see,” Death said. “Lendrz here needs some guidance to Medusa’s office. If you would be so kind.”

“I understand, Death,” Maka said with a bow.

“Absolutely not!” Spirit shouted as he leaped to his feet, seemingly recovering in an instant. He wrapped his hands around Maka protectively “I won’t have my Maka be alone with some boy!”

“Maka Chop!” 

A book seemed to have materialized into Maka’s hands before she slammed it into the same spot the Reaper had attacked just moments earlier. Just like last time, Spirit was sent to the ground with blood pouring out of his skull. Maka turned back to Lendrz with a smile, like she hadn’t just given the man a concussion.

“You needed directions to the nurse’s office, right?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz walked beside Maka as she led him through the halls. They hadn’t said a word to each other since the Death Room. Lendrz was content to walk in silence but his companion obviously was not.

“Sorry about Black Star. Usually, a student’s second day isn’t so eventful,” Maka said with an apologetic smile. 

Shrugging, Lendrz said, “In retrospect, I have a feeling Sid allowed this to happen. The chances of him showing up right at the moment Black Star challenged me to conveniently supervise the duel are pretty small.”

“Sid takes his job as a teacher very seriously, and he hates to see students slack off. It looks like he was right to do it, too. If you tell Black Star I said this, I’ll deny it, but he’s one of Shibusen’s top students. You lasted longer than most, and you’re still walking, too.”

Lendrz scoffed. “Most of his attacks didn’t even faze me. It was the last one that did any real damage to me. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Black Star’s Big Wave? That because he hit you with his Soul Wavelength,” Maka answered.

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “Soul Wavelength? Care to explain?”

“Think of the Wavelength as the sound of a Soul. It’s invisible even to Soul Perception, but it can be felt. Usually, a Wavelength isn’t strong enough to be used as a weapon, but Black Star’s Soul is. When he hit you with his Big Wave, he also slammed his Wavelength into yours,” Maka explained without missing a beat.

Frowning, Lendrz looked down at his chest.

_He attacked my Soul directly? Could he have knocked my Soul Protect off with that attack? That’s an answer I don’t want to find out._

“Oh, and before I forget again, here,” Maka said, bringing Lendrz out of his thoughts. She handed him a folded piece of paper covered in writing. “You dropped this when we first met. I don’t recognize what it is, but I held on to it because it might be important to you. It’s why I followed you to the Death Room.”

Lendrz took the paper and glanced at it. He froze when he recognized the writing on it. The paper was covered in Witch Text.

Maka walked forward a few more steps before she realized Lendrz had stopped. She turned back with a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

Lendrz’s eyes were still fixed onto the paper. His mouth felt dry. He couldn’t make himself move from the spot.

“Lendrz? You look really pale,” Maka said, concerned as she walked back to him.

Clearing his throat, Lendrz looked back up to his classmate. “Uh, yeah, I think the fight took more out of me than I thought. You said that you didn’t recognize any of this, right?”

Maka cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, I did. Is it important?”

“No, not really,” Lendrz said quickly as he pocketed the paper and continued walking. “Thanks for holding onto it anyway.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what did you and Death talk about?” Maka asked curiously.

“Death arranged for me to take part in some EAT activities,” Lendrz explained. 

“Congratulations,” Maka said earnestly. “Hopefully, you’ll join the EAT class properly before you know it.”

“Thanks,” Lendrz said halfheartedly.

“You don’t sound very excited,” Maka observed.

“It was that obvious, huh? It’s just… I’ve had a lot on my mind recently. I don’t know how I’m going to handle all this. The EAT class is only for the best students, but I don’t even have any combat experience. I mean, this is only my second day, and I’m already told I’ll have to do some tagalongs on EAT missions! For fuck’s sake, I don’t even have a partner yet!”

After that outburst, Lendrz felt a little better, even if he still held on to a few worries, for obvious reasons.

Maka didn’t answer right away. She stayed silent for so long, Lendrz thought they were going the rest of the way without exchanging another word. Finally, she spoke up. 

“I know Shibusen can be overwhelming, especially for someone who doesn’t have any experience. I was lucky. My mom was a Meister, and my dad was her Weapon. I was training for this before I even applied. I can’t imagine what it’s like to join without any experience,” Maka said reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Shibusen has the best teachers around. If you need any more help, you could always ask me.”

Lendrz looked to his classmate with wide eyes. “Thank you, Albarn- I mean, Maka. I’ve been having a rough time lately, and I really needed to hear that.”

Maka smiled in return. “We’re here,” she announced, pointing to a door. “The nurse’s office is right behind there.”

“Thank you,” Lendrz said. “I can find my way out by myself. I’ve already used up enough of your time.”

“I hope to see you soon,” Maka said with a wave.

Lendrz waved back before he entered the office. The nurse’s office was spacious and another door presumably led to the back room. Large medical cabinets lined up against the back wall. Lendrz could see bottles of pills and other medical supplies behind the glass doors. Beds were pushed up against the opposite wall. Medusa was waiting for him with a hand on her hip. Her nurse attire was similar to her regular clothes aside from an added lab coat.

“I’ve been expecting you,” she said flatly. “You’ve made quite the scene.”

Scratching the back of his head, Lendrz couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I would have avoided that if I could, but I have a feeling Sid had a hand in this.”

Medusa looked unimpressed. “You were lucky your Soul Protect didn’t fail.”

“I know, I know,” Lendrz grumbled.

Sighing, Medusa gestured for him to sit on one of the beds. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.

Lendrz walked up to the bed against a window that overlooked the front of the school. He sat and waited for Medusa.

“You should be running low on sleep medication, correct?” Medusa stated as she reached into her lab coat’s pocket. “I’ve prepared a refill for you.”

“Yeah, only a few days left on the bottle I have,” Lendrz answered.

“These should last you a little longer,” Medusa said as she handed him another bottle. “If you begin to run out, make an excuse to see me again, and I’ll set you up. What about your dreams. Any changes?”

Lendrz took the bottle and slipped it into his hoodie’s pocket. “Anytime I try to remember my dreams, all I remember is an inky darkness like I’m sitting in the bottom of the ocean. Is that normal?”

“Yes, the pills are working as extended,” Medusa assured. “Now, I saw you leave with Spirit. What did he want with you?”

Lendrz took a deep breath before answering. “Death offered to let me do some EAT activities, like tagging along on missions and such. I felt like refusing a good deal like that would raise suspension, so I agreed. Also, he arranged for me to work at a cafe, but that one isn’t as important.”

Medusa looked thoughtfully at Lendrz. “I think the offer might be a blessing in disguise.”

“What do you mean?” Lendrz asked.

“The EAT class has the brightest students in this school. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to have someone keep tabs on them until my plans come to fruition.”

“About those plans…,” Lendrz began, unsure how to begin.

“What about them?”

“It's just, some of these students are even younger than me... and I don't feel very comfortable working against the school if it means… they could die."

Medusa paused and looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Lendrz,” she began, “I’ll put this as simply as I can. Witches and the DWMA can not coexist. As long as this school stands, we will live the rest of our lives living in fear of the Reaper.”

“It's just, some of these students don't seem very violent. Some of them even seem kind of nice.”

Medusa kneeled to look into Lendrz’s eyes.

“If you truly feel that way, why don’t you find those students and explain to them that you’re a Witch, and then we can see their true colors.”

Lendrz flinched back and avoided Medusa’s gaze.

“Lendrz, in the little time I have known you, I’ve become quite attached to you. Admittedly, my daughter’s skills are lacking when it comes to magic and teaching you the trade has been a joy. I want to create a safe word for you and my daughter, where you’re free from the Shinigami.”

“I… You’re right. This school is dedicated to hunting me. If anyone knew the truth, they would reap my soul,” Lendrz amitted glumly.

“That being said, our target is Death. Once he falls, the rest will follow. Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about the rest of the staff our students,” Medusa offered.

Upon hearing this, Lendrz perked up a little. “Yeah, hopefully.”

“Now, do you have any injuries from your duel?” Medusa asked, her tone lightning as she changed the subject.

“Honestly, that little runt didn’t do much to me until the last attack,” Lendrz said scornfully. “That Big Wave hurt a lot when he hit me, but I’m starting to feel a lot better now.”

“Wonderful. Now, Spirit called ahead. He says you have an interview. I wrote it down for you,” Medusa said, handing him a slip of paper from her coat.

Lendrz took the paper and looked over it. The appointment was soon. He would have to go there before heading home if he wanted to make it on time. 

“Here, a little present for being a good patient,” Medusa said, holding out a grape lollipop.

“Thanks for everything, Medusa,” Lendrz said as he took it and stood up. He unwrapped the candy and stuck it in his mouth. 

“Think nothing of it,” Medusa replied. “Just don’t forget to neglect your extra readings.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve been keeping up,” Lendrz answered. “Goodbye.”

Medusa watched Lendrz leave her office with a smile. Once he left, her smile turned into a scowl.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on these so-called nice students,” she said darkly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz looked up at the cafe he was applying to. It was a small, unassuming place with a green windowed door. Large windows allowed Lendrz to see through. Small tables were organized throughout the brown and beige checkered floor. No more than two chairs were set up per table. Deathbucks cafe was written on the glass of the door. It was also written on the blue fabric awning. Small barrels of flowers lined the shop and a blackboard stand advertised the specials.

Taking a breath to calm his nerves, Lendrz entered the cafe. Light fixtures overhead lit the room with warm light. A tall older man stood behind the counter. He looked strongly built with intense features. His short, dark hair was slicked back. Faint stubble clung to his chin. He was dressed in a waiter uniform with his sleeves rolled up. The shelves behind him were stocked with plates, cups, and even a coffee machine. A bell rang when Lendrz opened the door and the man looked up.

“Hello, my name is Lendrz Ridrez. I was told you’d be expecting me,” Lendrz said.

“Yes, I remember, but there are supposed to be five more of you,” the man replied with a measured tone. 

“Five more? Who else is coming?” Lendrz asked.

He got his answer as the sound of footsteps closed in from behind. His eyes widened when he saw the two girls he had met on the first day along with another.

When the familiar pair saw Lendrz, they had a similar reaction.

“It’s you!”

“It’s you!”

“It’s you!”

The third girl looked from Lendrz to the others. She was around the group’s age if a bit taller. She had a vacant look on her face as she looked on. Her short light brown hair just touched her shoulders and a ponytail stuck out of the right of her head. A beige sweater hung loosely over a white dress shirt. The sleeves seemed a little too long and covered most of her hands. To top it off, a red bow tie was pinned to her neck along with a Shinigami pin on her sweater. A pleated blue skirt swished around her knees.

“It’s you?” she said, her gaze shifting from Lendrz to her friends.

“What are you doing here?” blonde demanded.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Lendrz shot back.

“I can answer that,” the man said calmly. “All of you are here to work.”

Lendrz turned back to the man. “Really? What are the chances of that?”

“We’re still waiting on two more,” the man continued.

“Then wait no more.”

Lendrz turned back to see Akane and Clay walking towards them. 

“Now you two? What are the chances of that?” Lendrz asked.

“More likely than you think,” Akan answered. “Clay here burned through all our money in the arcade.”

Clay flashed his partner a look of contempt. “Hey! You don’t need to tell them that.”

Akane smiled smugly in response.

“Oh, so you guys lost your allowances, too?” blonded asked.

“Indeed we did,” Arkane replied.

“You can catch up later,” the man announced, getting everyone’s attention. “You may call me Master, and consider today your trial period. Go get changed into your uniforms. They’re separate changing rooms in the back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With one last button, Lendrz finished changing into his waiter uniform. Akane and Clay had finished first and had already left. Examining himself in a mirror, Lendrz contemplated his reflection. 

_Not too shabby, if I do say so myself, but still not my kinda thing._

Done with his look over, Lendrz left the changing room. Everyone else was already changed and waiting for him. Clay and Akane had matching uniforms. The girls were dressed in maid uniforms with upside-down Shinigami mask decorations in their hair and large blue bows pinned to their collars.

“Now that’s everyone is ready, let’s begin. Most of our customers will be coming here because they want to get a look at real-life DWMA students like you, so just put your best foot forward and you should do fine. Now, let’s get to work.”

“Right!”

Some of the group took to their roles better than others. Akane, Clay, and surprisingly blonde did well. She struck Lendrz as a rich, spoiled type, but she took to being a waitress like a fish to water. She was polite and all smiles. The same couldn’t be said about the other two. The brown-haired girl was as airheaded as could be. She had to be told even simple orders several times before she actually managed to remember any of it. Harudori, while not as ditzy as the other girl, had to concentrate on balancing a single glass on a platter. Lendrz himself performed his duties well. 

Despite his initial reluctance, Lendrz found himself enjoying his time at the cafe. Having something to do helped take his mind off his worries. Before he knew it, the last customer had left and he had just finished sweeping up. Akane and Clay had finished their duties and left already. The three girls were just finishing up wiping down the tables. By now, they had changed back to their regular clothes.

“Lendrz, here’s your order,” Master said, placing a paper bag on the counter. 

“Thank you, Master,” Lendrz said as he picked up the bag. “You know, I’ll never get used to calling you that. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Master nodded. “Thank you all for your service today.”

The remaining students nodded. The three girls bunched up and left the cafe with Lendrz not far behind. When Lendrz stepped out, he noticed the girls were heading in the opposite direction of his apartment. He looked back and forth between the girls and his path home. Finally, he made a decision. 

“Hey! Wait up!” Lendrz called to the group as he walked towards them. All three turned to him. 

Harudori and blonde’s expressions soured while the other looked at him with confusion. 

“What do you want?” blonde asked as she crossed her arms.

“We’ve never been properly introduced, right? I’m Lendrz Ridrez,” Lendrz said awkwardly. The group exchanged skeptical looks.

“I’m Tsugumi Harudori.”

“Anya Hepburn,” blonde answered curtly.

“And I’m… who am I?” the last girl asked herself.

“Her name is Meme Tatane,” Harudori finished for her.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Now, what do you want?” Anya.

“It’s, uh… I wanted to apologize for my behavior,” Lendrz began.

Tsugumi and Anya looked back at Lendrz with shock. “What!?” both of them exclaimed.

“Yeah, what I said to you wasn’t very fair… It’s just… I’ve never been around Meister and Weapons, and I’ve had a tough time adjusting, but it was still uncalled for me to snap at you like that. I hope you can forgive me,” Lendrz explained.

After the initial shock wore off, Tsugumi smiled. “I’ve felt the same way. This is the first time I been around other Weapons and Meisters, and I do forgive you,” she said.

Anya looked unimpressed. “I suppose that apology will suffice,” she said.

“Apologise for what?” Meme asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Anya said.

“But you were right about one thing,” Tsugumi said.

“And what is that?” Lendrz asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You were right when you said I wasn’t strong, but I won’t stay weak for long. I’ll work hard, and I’ll be strong before you know it,” Tsugumi proclaimed proudly.

Lendrz couldn’t help a smile from tugging at the corner of his lips. “Then just remember-”

“Words are cheap,” she finished with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll show even you.”

“Then I look forward to that day,” Lendrz said with a wave. “I’ll see you in class.”

With that, Lendrz turned and parted ways with a little less weight on his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There you are,” Lendrz said as the cat leaped onto his shoulders as he entered his apartment. “I figured you ran off when I couldn’t find you this morning.”

“Meow!

“Well, if you’re here for fish, I’m sorry to say I’m not in the mood to cook up anything. It’s been a long day.”

“Meow!” it meowed in disapproval.

“Don’t worry. You won’t go hungry today. I brought a little something,” Lendrz said, raising the paper bag. 

And just like that, it regained its happy attitude.

Lendrz reached into the bag and grabbed one of two wrapped sandwiches. He unwrapped the sandwich and tore it in half. He placed half of the sandwich on the coffee table with the paper. The cat hopped onto the table and sniffed the meal skeptically. Lendrz sat on the couch with his remaining sandwich and a half.

“It’s just a ham sandwich I picked up from work. Here, I’ll take a bite,” Lendrz said as he took a bite. He froze with a mouthful of food. He looked at his sandwich incredulity.

“This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had!” Lendrz exclaimed.

The cat looked back at her own meal and took a bite as well. It meowed in glee before attacking her meal. Lendrz was quick to scarf down his own meal. All too soon, both Lendrz and the cat finished their meal.

“I thought I knew my way around the kitchen, but Master makes me look like a fry cook,” Lendrz said, a little enviously. 

The cat meowed in approval. Since it had finished her meal, it had flopped over lazily and seemed closed to dozing off.

Lendrz leaned forward and gently picked up the cat. It looked up at him and blinked its golden eyes lazily. 

“You know, if you’re going to stick around, I should call you something,” Lendrz said. “You have a collar, but I don’t think three triangles is your name.”

“Meow,” it said with approval.

“First, are you a boy or a girl? Meow twice for a girl or once for a boy,” Lendrz said.

“Meow! Meow!”

“It looks like you’re a miss kitty,” Lendrz said as he brought the cat close to his chest and carefully scratched her neck. The cat purred constantly. 

Lendrz placed the cat on the seat next to him. Kitty meowed in protest. 

“Don’t worry,” Lendrz assured. “I’ll be back. I’m just going to get some reading.”

Lendrz walked into his room and reached under his bed. He pulled out a large, bulging satchel. He opened it to reveal it stuffed full of books and paper. Lendrz pulled out the paper Maka had returned to him. Just thinking back to that moment made him anxious. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. 

_There’s nothing to worry about. Maka had no idea what was on the paper, and since you’re still breathing, that means no one else knew what it was if she showed it to anyone else._

Once he calmed down, he stuffed the paper with his other notes and retrieved a thick, ancient leather-bound tome. He took the book with him back to his couch. Once Lendrz sat down, the cat leaped up and wrapped herself around the back of his neck and purred, content. Lendrz cracked open the book and began pouring over its contexts.

“Meow?” the cat said curiously as it overlooked the open book. 

“Don’t tell anyone, kitty, but I’m a sorcerer,” Lendrz said jokingly to the cat.

The cat didn’t answer. She simply curled herself around his neck and seemed to dose off. 

Lendrz smiled and settled in for a long read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I got this chapter done fast, and it's long, too. Lucky you, huh?
> 
> Honestly, what do you guys think about my chapter lengths? I'm toying with having more frequent, but shorter chapters. I usually try to go around 5k words. This isn't a hard rule, and I sometimes go way over it. I'm thinking of doing 2k maybe 3k chapters.


	4. Four's Company

The class had gathered in a spacious tiled room. It was empty aside from the lockers against the walls along with a few benches. Large windows made up an entire wall of the room. One of them was open. Sid stood beside an EAT student for a demonstration.

The student was a girl wearing a black dress coat over a white blouse with a blue ribbon pinned to her neck with a small skull pendant. A pleated dark skirt stopped just above her knees. Her brown hair was styled into a bun and two tails trailed down the sides of her face. She looked at the class with a neutral expression on her face.

“This is Jacqueline O’lantern Dupre,” Sid introduced, gesturing to the EAT student. “She’s here to demonstrate some of the finer points of the partnership between Meister and Weapon.”

Jacqueline raised one of her hands to the open window. With a flash, it transformed into a rectangular steel box made out of dark metal. A pair of thin holes went along the side and a keyhole on the top. Something within it sparked and flames burst out from the openings. 

“Remember, controlling your weapon abilities is helpful in several ways. You don’t have to leave the attacks to your Meister alone. They can also have some real-world applications as well. You might be surprised with what you can do. Jacqueline, please begin.”

“Right.”

Jacqueline began to spin, leaving a trail of flame around her. She flipped and brought her remaining hand to do a handstand. Before her hand touched the ground, she transformed fully into her weapon form. Her weapon was a simple rectangular box with a short handle. The key was a faceplate attached on a hinge. It flipped open to reveal a jack o lantern face.

Flame gushed out from the face, propelling the weapon through the air like a rocket. It flew out the window and high into the air. She twirled through the air for a few moments before turning back and flying inside through the same window. She transformed into her human form and stood before the class, her expression remained unchanged.

“Thank you for the presentation, Jacqueline, As you can see, a weapon is not just limited to their Meister. These abilities are dependent on your weapon form, so it’s up to you to figure them out for yourself. You’re excused, Jacqueline”

Jacqueline bowed to the teacher before wordlessly leaving. Lendrz watched the weapon leaving with a frown. 

_Some of these students are on another level._

“Alright, I want you to split up into pairs. Meisters, for today, your job is to support the weapons,” Sid announced to the class. 

Lendrz took a deep breath and scanned the room. This would be his first time wielding a Weapon. Most of the students didn’t share his nervousness. They quickly paired up and before long, only a handful of stranglers weren’t paired up.

‘No luck finding a partner, huu?” Sid asked as he stepped up to Lendrz. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get you paired up. Why don’t you try pairing up with him?”

Sid pointed to a plain student wearing a green shirt and jeans. “You still need a partner, right? Try pairing up with Lendrz here.”

“Uh, okay,” the student replied as he stepped up to Lendrz. 

Lendrz took his position close to his temporary partner. He breathed out and calmed himself down. This was just practice, nothing to worry about. The Weapon glowed and flew upward, forming a simple dagger. Lendrz reached out before it fell to the ground and grabbed it by the handle. Of all the things he expected, he didn’t expect the small dagger to be impossibly heavy. Before Lendrz could let go of the Weapon, its weight dragged him to the floor. Lendrz yelped as it nearly knocked him on his stomach. 

The Weapon quickly transformed back and stepped back, mumbling an embarrassed apology.

“Huh, doesn’t look like your Soul Wavelengths are compatible. Don’t worry. I’m sure we can find someone you can practice with.”

And so Lendrz attempted to pair up with the remaining weapons, but the result was the same every time. Whenever he grabbed a Weapon, they were impossible to budge even an inch. Soon, Lendrz was left without a partner.

Sid looked around the room of mostly paired up students with a frown. His eyes settled upon a familiar trio that was too wrapped up in their argument to notice anything else.

“Follow me, Lendrz. I want to try one last time,” Sid said as he walked up to the trio.

They walked up to them. By the time they reached them, they seemed like they just wrapped up whatever they were arguing about.

“Tsugami, can you try pairing up with Lendrz here?” Sid asked. “He seems to be having some trouble finding one.”

“Eh?” Tsugami asked, glancing from Lendrz to Sid. 

“Another partner?” Anya complained. 

“Yeah, don’t you think this is getting a little crowded?” Meme agreed.

“Settle down,” Sid said. “There’s plenty of other students you can practice with. Tsugami, go ahead and transform.”

“Okay,” Tsugami answered before she turned to Lendrz. “Let’s give this our all.”

Lendrz rolled his shoulders in preparation for the halberd to drag him to the floor. “Yeah, sure. Why not,” he said, detached as he held out his arms, palms facing upwards.

Tsugami nodded before closing her eyes and concentrating. At first, nothing happened. Right as Lendrz was about to say something, she began to glow. She transformed into light and flew above his open hands. Lendrz braced himself for the explosion of weight, but it didn’t come. The halberd landed in his hands and while it was still heavy, it was still manageable. 

“Looks like you found a partner for today,” Sid said before turning to Meme and Anya. “Come on let’s find you two a partner.”

Anya and Meme both glared at Lendrz with annoyance but left with Sid anyway. Lendrz watched the pair leave before looking down at Tsugami. 

“It looks like your friends are a little… passionate,” Lendrz remarked dryly.

“Well, having two partners can be a little hard to manage,” Tsugami said.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Lendrz said as he waved Tsugami around, testing the weight. “You’re kinda heavy, aren’t you?”

“Hey! Are you calling me fat!” Tsugami shouted.

“Uh, no, no, no,” Lendrz stammered quickly. “I just meant that we’re not resonating very well, just enough for me to carry you, but not much else.”

Tsugami didn’t answer right away. Lendrz could practically see the pout on her face. “Fine, I forgive you,” she said finally.

“Anyway, let’s try to practice,” Lendrz said as he waited for Sid’s instructions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a flash, Tsugami transformed back in front of Lendrz once the class was done.

“Nice session,” Lendrz said as he stretched his arms in an attempt to get rid of the stiffness from his shoulders.

“Thanks,” Tsugami said. “You weren’t too bad yourself.”

“Hey, Tsugami, have you seen Anya? Did she leave already?” Meme asked as she walked up to them.

Tsugami looked around the class, but she couldn’t find the blonde anywhere among the crowd leaving. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

“Did you ask the person she practiced with?” Lendrz asked.

“Yeah, I did. He said…” Meme trailed off as she visibly struggled to remember what she learned. “Oh, he said she left as soon as class ended. I thought she might have talked to you before she left.”

“Does it matter if she decided to leave a little early?” Lendrz asked the girls. “I don’t see the big deal.”

“Yeah, it is. Anya hates being alone. And besides, this is the last class of the day,” Tsugami explained.

“Should we go look for her?” Meme asked. 

“I think we should,” Tsugami replied before turning to Lendrz. “Can you help us find her?”

Lendrz frowned and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. On one hand, they were probably getting worried over nothing. On the other, he felt a little guilty for getting in the way. “I guess it is kind of my fault that she ran off. Lucky for you, I don’t have anything planned, so I have some time to spare.“

“Thanks,” Tsugami said. “Can you start looking around at the bottom of the stairs. Meme and I will look around here.”

“Sure. Just make sure you two come down when you’re finished looking. I don’t feel like climbing the stairs again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz walked through the streets near the base of the school. So far, he hadn't seen a sign of the blonde girl. He had already spent the better part of the hour walking. 

_At this point, I might as well call it quits. I’m obviously not going to find her, but I should at least keep trying until the others show up._

A terrified scream pulled Lendrz out of his thoughts. It was nearby and sounded familiar.

“I have a feeling I just found her,” Lendrz said to himself as he began to run towards the scream. 

Lendrz didn’t have to run for long to find the source. Anya was sitting on the ground with her back pressed against a brick wall in the cramped street. Despite her struggles to retain her composure, it was clear she was afraid. Before he stood a thin man, wearing a sleeveless blue hoodie over a t-shirt and green jeans. His right hand had an almost yin yang tattoo, but both were a matching red. On the same hand, stitching tattoos wrapped around his wrist. To top it all off, a small claw was on his index finger.

“So, does anybody want to explain what’s going on here before I start to get angry?” Lendrz sarcastically asked as he approached the stranger with his arms raised, ready for a fight. 

The stranger turned to him and Anya took the opportunity to quickly get up and make some distance from him. His hoodie shadowed most of his face, but one eye almost seemed to glow. A red Scorpio symbol sat on his pupil with an arrow pointing inward.

“Another academy student? Well, isn’t this my lucky day,” the stranger said coldly.

Lendrz’s attention was more focused on his claw. He doubted he was much of a threat to him, but even that could cut skin, which would mean spilled purple blood, which would mean some unwanted questions. 

“Would you do me a favor and get out of here? You’ll only slow me down,” Lendrz said as he moved between the stranger and Anya.

“Absolutely not! This isn't an ordinary opponent! He’s a serious fighter! I can help you!” Anya protested.

“No offense, but I don’t think you’ll be much help here. You don’t even have Harudori with you.”

Before Anya could respond, the stranger charged forward, claw poised to slice. He charged to Lendrz’s right. The troll prepared for a strike but as the stranger dashed within range, he quickly moved to his left. Lendrz jumped back as the claw sliced dangerously close to his neck. Lendrz managed to clumsily take a swing at the stranger, but he had already lept back and was eying him for another opening. 

Lendrz growled as he prepared for another attack. Whoever this guy was, he was fast and agile. With Anya so determined to stay, she would end up blowing his cover. He would have to end this fight as quickly as possible. Just as Lendrz was about to make his attack, his opponent spoke.

“It appears our audience has grown,” he said, looking past Lendrz.

Lendrz quickly glanced back and saw a couple more familiar faces approach. Tsugumi and Meme were running towards him. They stopped a couple of feet away and looked from Lendrz to the stranger and Anya, trying to figure out what had happened.

_Great, even more witnesses. Taking this guy down would have been a breeze even if it got me a couple of cuts, but having everyone here complicates things._

Returning his eyes to his opponent, Lendrz called out to the newcomers, “Now what are you two doing here?”

“We heard Anya calling for help when we were looking for you,” Tsugumi said quickly. “What happened?”

“That stranger attacked me,” Anya explained. “Lendrz here arrived just in time.”

“And you guys can thank me by getting out of here!” Lendrz commanded. “I have this situation handled!”

“We can just leave you here!” Tsugumi stated firmly.

“Yeah!” Meme agreed.

“Liste-”

The stranger took advantage of Lendrz’s distraction and charged forward again with his claw cutting through the air. Lendrz stumbled back, but not before the stranger managed to get a good slice across his torso. Lendrz hissed through his teeth as he glanced at his wound. It was shallow, thankfully, so it didn’t bleed much, but it still stung. Despite the tear in his hoodie, it still hid the small trickle of blood from his chest.

Lendrz kept his eyes trained on the stranger now. “See! Just do me a favor and get out of here before you distract me again!”

The three of them hesitated, but none of them moved away. Growling, Lendrz ignored them and focused on his opponent. The stranger smirked at him, smug confidence oozing from him.

_This is going to be a pain in the ass._

Tsugumi looked on from the sidelines. She felt hopeless as she watched her classmate mate fight the stranger. How could she help? She was a Weapon and she could barely transform at the best of times.

“Tsugumi, can you transform?” Meme asked with an unusually serious tone.

“I-I can try,” Tsugumi stammered as she clenched her fists and concentrated, but nothing happened.

The three watched as the stranger charged forward again, his speed and agility more than a match for Lendrz’s brute strength. The pair were at an impasse. The stranger would move in for a quick attack but he always dodged away from Lendrz’s powerful swipes.

Despite his warning, Tsugumi found herself beginning to move to the fight before her mind even processed what she was doing. Pink light began to envelop her body as it began to lose its form. Instead of flying to Anya or Meme, she flew to Lendrz.

Lendrz waited for his attacker to move within range, but before the stranger could close the distance, a pink light flew into his hands. The stranger was just as surprised as Lendrz was. He jumped back as the light solidified into a halberd, a very familiar dull one. Despite his earlier experience, the weapon was surprisingly light and balanced.

“Harudori!? What are you doing?” Lendrz asked, looking down at the halberd in his hands. 

“I don’t know! All I knew was that you needed my help,” Tsugumi said.

Just as Lendrz was about to retort, the stranger attacked. He dashed to his side and went for the throat. Lendrz stepped back and swung the halberd in a wide arc. The stranger jumped back. Even with the added reach, he was too fast for Lendrz to even graze him.

Lendrz growled as he leered at his opponent’s sneering face. Whoever this guy was, he was starting to piss him off.

“I think that’s enough.”

Both of them glanced to see Akane pointing presumably Clay at the stranger. Clay’s weapon form was a simple long thin black sword. Its sharpened blade was shining silver. Instead of a handguard, the sword had a diamond before tapering off into a long handle with a couple more diamonds on the end. 

“Neither they nor I are agents of the DWMA, understand?” Akane began as he rested Clay on behind his shoulder. “We’re not very powerful. I doubt we’ll provide much of a challenge for you. You might as well leave. You’re wasting your time here.” With that, he stretched his arms out and stood at the ready for an attack.

The stranger chuckled, his smirk never once leaving his face, but he did walk off. Lendrz glared at the stranger and disappeared into another street, but he didn’t pursue. Once he was gone, he remembered he was still holding on to Tsugumi. He looked down at the blunt weapon with a raised eyebrow.

“Holding you is a lot easier than last time,” Lendrz noted.

“Well, I couldn’t stand by and let you get hurt,” Tsugami replied.

“So, Harudori, can you transform back now or…?”

“Of course I can!” She said defensively. 

Lendrz waited a moment and Tsugumi glowed before flying away from him and solidifying into her human form.

“See?” she said.

Lendrz glanced at her legs. “You might have missed something,” he said dryly, pointing at her left leg.

Tsugumi glanced down and noticed said leg was still a metal spike. She panicked and began to stumble forward. Lendrz managed to move fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground in his arms.

“You should really be more careful. We don’t want you getting hurt, do we?” Lendrz cautioned. 

Tsugumi blushed at the sudden closeness and quickly pushed away as soon as he leg became normal again. Anya and Meme looked on at their new potential partner with barely hidden contempt. 

“Now that all that’s taken care of, do you two know anything about the guy who just attacked us?” Lendrz asked as he turned to Akane.

Clay transformed back into his human form and he shrugged. “I haven’t seen him before. We only came here because we heard all the commotion.”

Lendrz frowned, but didn’t press the issue. 

“Anya, are you alright?” Tsugami asked as she ran up to her blonde partner. Anya pressed her arm against her chest.

“I would be more worried about Lendrz over there,” Anya responded, pointing to the cut on his chest. 

Lendrz covered his gashed clothing with his hands as quick as he could. “I’m fine,” he said. “It’s barely even a paper cut.”

“Are you sure, Lendrz?” Akane asked as he stepped closer. “We can always go to the nurse.”

“I am fine,” Lendrz assured. “My clothes got the worst of it.”

“If you insist,” Akane relented as he stepped back. 

“Yes, I insist. Now, shouldn’t you check on the others?”

Akane nodded and turned to the girls. “If you girls wish, we can escort you back to the dorms. We can help you as well if you wish.”

Lendrz waved him off. “I’m fine. I don’t live far from here anyway.”

“Well, just stay safe then,” Clay said with a wave.

“Alright, I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lendrz said as he turned and left the others.

Once he was sure he was alone, he looked down at the wound he received. His cut had already clotted, his blood congealed into a dark purple color, almost pitch black. He hadn’t spilled much blood, but the sooner he got himself home the better. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing Lendrz did when he reached his home was collapse on his couch. Despite not doing anything too strenuous, Lendrz was absolutely exhausted. To think, today had started like any other day until some random asshole decided to stir up trouble. He needed to be more careful if he wanted to keep up his disguise. He had no idea what kind of excuse he would have to come up with to explain away the purple blood. 

“Meow?”

Lendrz opened a single eye to see a small cat climbing onto his couch. She seemed to be interested in the bloodstains around the cut, intrigued by strange stains on his clothes.

“You’ve never seen me without my disguise, have you?” Lendrz asked as he gently picked up the cat and placed it on his lap. “Well, long story short, I look a little different than I do now. Just make sure you’re careful around here,” he finished, pointing to the general area of his horns. “Maybe I’ll show you one of these days.”

“Meow?”

“It’s nothing a kitty like you should worry about,” Lendrz said as he gently scratched her behind the ears. The cat closed her eyes and purred blissfully.

Lendrz sighed as he thought back to the attack. “I have a feeling that’s not going to be the end of it. I guess we’ll see what happens at school.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz stretched his arms and yawned as Sid dismissed the class. Despite being a school dedicated to teaching its students, the DWMA still taught normal classes along with the more eccentric ones. And even then, the teachings of the soul could end up being surprisingly technical. So far, the day has been uneventful. The class was for Meister only, so he only saw Meme and Anya. He did get a few odd glances from them, but they didn’t approach him. As Lendrz stood to follow the crowd Sid moved in front of him. 

“Lendrz, do you have a moment to talk?” Sid asked.

“I can talk,” Lendrz answered.

“I heard from Akane and Clay that you wielded Tsugami the other day during the attack,” Sid began. “I’ve already talked with the others about it, but I wanted to hear your side.”

Lendrz shrugged. “If you already hear it from the others, then I don’t really have much to add, but I’ll try. It turns out Anya was a little annoyed to have a different partner. As soon as class ended, she left before talking to her partners. I felt a little guilty about being involved, so I decided to help. I looked around the city around the base of the school. I heard a scream. I followed the source and found Anya being attacked. During the fight, Harudori transformed and flew into my hands. Not long after, Hoshi and Sizemore broke up the fight. Then the stranger just… left.”

Sid rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Tell me, how did it feel when you wielded Tsugami?”

“She was light, almost like she didn’t weigh a thing. I'm not a weapon expert, but the halberd felt well balanced and natural, better than the first time I held her,” Lendrz explained.

“Just like I thought. Have you considered joining Tsugami’s team?”

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think her team is a little… crowded? She already has two partners.”

“True, but you still shouldn’t just let this chance go. I’ll set up some one on one time with her the next time we have weapon practices, and I already talked with Tsugami about it,” Sid continued.

Lendrz was still unconvinced. “Is there any reason why it has to be Tsugami? Can’t I practice with someone else?”

“Normally, you would, but it seems you and Tsugami have a pretty compatible soul wavelength. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to at least have some practice with her, especially since I had some trouble finding you a partner last class. Besides, just because you’re working together now doesn’t mean it’s permanent.”

Lendrz shrugged. Sid made a good point and arguing might raise some suspicion. “Yeah, that works for me. Before I go, can I ask a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Do you know anything about the guy that attacked us a while ago?”

Sid frowned and looked a little unsure. “We have been receiving reports of strange attacks around the city by several people, but so far no one has received serious injuries. We’ve been calling these people Traitors. You might have noticed a few posters around. We don’t know what their motives are, but after the last attack I think we should treat them a little more seriously

“So, we’re just going through classes normally?” Lendrz asked.

“That’s the plan. Don’t worry about it too much. I’ll take every step I can to make sure you guys are safe. That’s the kind of man I am.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lendrz said as he turned to leave, still feeling a little unsure.

“Just don’t forget your gym clothes for tomorrow,” Sid called out as Lendrz left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz twisted his torso to stretch. He wore a tracksuit, the usual gym uniform for male students. Instead of the usual blue, he opted for purple. The girl’s uniform was a t-shirt and a pair of bloomers. Sid and another teacher were overlooking the tests along with a few of the more responsible students helping. The other teacher was Mira Niagus, a stunning taller woman with light brown skin. She wore a blouse over a white blouse with quite a few buttons undone. A long pencil skirt covered her legs with a slit down the side. Her black hair was braided and her bangs framed her face. The rest of her hair was pulled tightly into a bun. A pair of open-topped glasses sat on her nose. Behind them were stern watery blue eyes. She carried a professional aura about her. Both of the teachers held clipboards to jot down results.

“Hey, Lendrz,” Niagus called. “You’ve done enough stretching. Give the shot put a try.”

“Alright, I’m coming,” Lendrz answered as he jogged towards the shot put field. A small pile of shot put balls sat next to the starting spot. Lendrz picked up one of the balls. He tossed the ball from hand to hand to test out the weight. It might as well have been made of feathers to him. He didn’t understand the point of this test. Just to see how far he could toss a ball?

He tossed the ball to his right hand and tossed it half-heartedly. Despite the lack of effort, the ball still flew dozens of feet. He dusted his hands off together and turned around. He raised an eyebrow. He didn’t expect for just about everyone who saw the throw to look at him with awe. Sid and Niaugus were the only people who still seemed to have their composure. 

“Good job,” Niagus said as she marked something down on her clipboard. “Come on. We have more tests.”

This went on for a while. Lendrz passed test after test with ease despite not putting much effort into them. The only tests he didn’t find much success in were any base on speed or agility. The school day went by before he knew it. 

Once the sun was beginning to dip and the light was beginning to dull into a gentle orange, Lendrz made his way to the DWMA to change back into his usual clothes. Most of the students were spread across the field, winding down after a heavy day of exercise. Lendrz had hardly broken a sweat after an entire day. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Tsugami sitting on the stairs to the school. She seemed too deep in her thoughts to notice him walking closer. Whatever she was thinking about seemed to be bothering her a lot judging by her frown and sad eyes. She almost looked like a scolded puppy Even Lendrz wasn’t cold enough to simply ignore her.

“Shouldn’t you be with the other two? I swear it’s like the three of you are joined at the hip or something.”

Tsugami eeped and her head snapped up to look at him. “Lendrz!? What are you doing here?”

Lendrz sat down beside her. ‘Well, we’re both in the EAT class, and you’re standing on the steps to the school. I wouldn’t exactly say the chances of us meeting each other are slim. That being said, I do find myself bumping into a few others constantly, you included.”

“Now that you mention it, we do keep bumping into each other, don’t we?”

“That would be an understatement. I assume Sid has already talked to you about me joining you.”

Tsugami smiled a little. “Yeah, he talked to me before class.”

“I would have loved to see the other’s reaction to getting the news.”

Once again, Tsugami’s face fell as whatever she was brooding over hit her again. “Lendrz, do you mind if I ask you a personal question since we’re kinda friends and all.”

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t exactly consider us friends. I think acquaintances would be a more accurate term. We don't really know much about each other. I mean, you don’t even know my favorite color.”

Tsugami looked down at his clothes. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s purple.”

Lendrz opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he realized his fashion choice. “Lucky guess,” he said. “I guess you can call me a friend then.”

“Now that we’re friends, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Shoot, and if I don’t like it, then I won’t answer it.”

“Why did you choose to come to the DWMA?”

Lendrz turned to Tsugami with a curious look. “Now that is a personal question. Well, I’m afraid my story isn’t that interesting. I don’t really have a family. The best thing I had was a caretaker that dropped by from time to time. When I learned I had potential as a Meister, going to the DWMA just seemed like the natural choice. Since I didn’t have any family or friends to hold me back and a lack of alternatives, just picking up my life and moving here wasn’t a big deal,” he explained.

Lendrz felt a little guilty lying to the girl, but what he said wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Aren’t you worried about the danger?”

“I mean, have you seen my result today?” Lendrz said with a laugh. “But in all seriousness, it’s not like the DWMA is just gonna shove us out the door without making sure we’re ready. And I could always just stay in the EAT class if I want.”

“I don’t know if I can handle it in the EAT class. I’d get myself killed within a week. I’m not like Anya or Meme. Next to them, I’m useless… or compared to anyone really,” she admitted sadly.

“I wouldn't be so hard on yourself. I doubt you’re the worst weapon that ever set foot on campus. I’m sure someone around here can make something out of you. Did you expect to become a master overnight? We all gotta start somewhere.”

“Thanks. That’s nice to hear,” Tsugami said as a small smile graced her lips. “I just wish my starting point was a little better.”

“Well, now that I told you my story, don’t you think you should do the same?”

“My story’s not that different from yours actually, really,” Tsugami admitted. “One day, I found out I was a weapon, and joining the DWMA just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“I have a feeling that’s a pretty common story around here.”

“I see you’re getting to know your temporary partner,” Akane noted as he walked up to the pair with Clay by his side. Both of them wore blue tracksuits. 

“Funny bumping into you two again,” Lendrz said as he looked at the two skeptically. “Looks like we have a knack for that.”

“That is strange isn’t it,” Akane replied, his easy smile never faltering.

“Lendrz and I were just talking. He helped me go through some things,” Tsugami said, gesturing to him. 

“While we’re on the topic of you I wanted to talk to you about this,” Akane said as he pulled some kind of… shipping chart from his pocket?

The chart had all of Tsugami’s team drawn on it along with Clay, Akane, and even Lendrz himself. Arrows connected the faces with seemingly no thought behind the reasoning. Small, crude hearts were drawn all over the page as well. 

“Does anybody want to explain what that is and why I’m on that chart,” Lendrz said with a raised eyebrow.

“Doesn’t matter,” Akane said as he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it. “It was just a bad joke.”

“Hey, Tsugami! What are you doing over there!?” Anya called as she jogged towards them with Anya.

Meme wore the standard uniform except her shirt seemed a couple sizes too small and Anya opted for short track pants.

“Have you told them about me joining you three?”

Tsugami glanced at Lendrz sheepishly. “Uh, I never found the right time to bring it up.”

Lendrz stood up. “Well, let’s go break the news, shall we?”

Tsugami nodded and walked to meet the other two with Lendrz. Anya took one look at Tsugami’s face and knew something was wrong in a heartbeat. 

“Tsugami, what’s going on? Why is he with you?”

“Well,” Tsugami nervously began. “Lendrz here is going to join our team for a little while.”

Anya and Meme frowned at the pair. “Really, Tsugami? Aren’t the two of us enough for you?”

“Yeah, are you sure you need another?” Meme added.

“It’s not like that,” Tsugami stammered out. ‘It’s just for practice.”

Lendrz found himself smiling as he watched Tsugami try to explain herself, but the moment passed as quickly as it came when Medusa’s words echoed through his mind. 

_If you truly feel that way, why don’t you find those students and explain to them that you’re a Witch, and then we can see their true colors._

_I can’t let myself get too comfortable. These people are my enemies. My goal here is to assist Medusa in destroying the Shinigami, and hopefully, the school will fall apart on its own._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lendrz stood in front of the Medusa’s door, preparing himself for the upcoming conversation. Finally mustering up the courage, he opened the door and stepped forward. Medusa was sitting behind her desk in the middle of some paperwork.

“Heya, Medusa,” Lendrz said a little quietly as he approached.

Medusa looked up, her expression remaining neutral. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”

“It looks like I found myself a temporary partner.”

“Did you now. Who is it?”

“It’s Tsugumi Harudori.”

Medusa leaned back in her seat, her expression never changing. “Tell me about this girl.”

“Nothing special from what she tells me. She found out she was a Weapon one day and enrolled here. She still doesn’t have transforming down. She does have two other partners besides me. Anya Hepburn and Meme Tatane are the others.”

Medusa propped her elbows on the table and interlocked her fingers. She didn’t answer immediately. 

“Uh, if this is drawing too much attention, I can try to find out a way out of it.”

“No, no, no,” Medusa said. “This is fine. Just make sure you’re careful with your Soul Protect. And before you forget, take another refill. “

Medusa took a bottle of pills from her pocket and tossed it to Lendrz. He caught before slipping into his own. 

“Thanks,” Lendrz said as he began to leave. “Until next time, Medusa.”

Medusa leaned back in her seat and thought carefully about the change of events.

_It will be interesting to the effects of my Black Blood on this partnership. That being said, he is getting a lot of attention. If he gets caught, there’s always the contingency plan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Lendrz is joining up. I don't think I'll have Lendrz in every little adventure that the NOT trio has, especially the filler episodes. I think I'll have Lendrz do stuff with the main cast during the summer. I think I'll work on the main fic for a while since I still have to catch up on the episodes.


	5. Journey to the East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note. Japanese exist on Alternia/Beforeus, but it's treated like an accent.

Lendrz took deep breaths and tried to calm his beating heart. He knew that Lord Death probably hadn’t called him to his office to kill him, but he still couldn’t stop himself from being nervous. 

“Relax, kid, you’re not in trouble. Lord Death just wants to talk to you,” Sid explained again.

“I know, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being called to Death’s office,” Lendrz explained as he made a conscious effort to avoid looking up at the guillotine gates hanging overhead. He still half-expected one of the blades to drop down directly on his head. 

“If I were you, I would be more focused on your first assignment.”

“Well, I’m also worried about that.”

The hall of guillotines opened to the clearing. Like last time, Death stood beside his mirror. Spirit stood close by as well with a clipboard of papers in hand. 

“Ah, Lendrz,” Death said happily as he waved one of his blocky hands. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Uh, yeah,” Lendrz said, half-heartedly waving back. “You wanted to talk to me about doing my first mission with an EAT student, right?”

Death clapped his hands together. “Right to the point, aren’t you? Well, as it happens, a mission has come up that’s just perfect for you to tag along. I’ve heard some reports about a small-time gang that has recently turned to devouring souls to gain more power. Luckily, we got wind of them fast and they haven’t had the chance to take many souls.”

“If I remember correctly, you said I wouldn’t take these missions alone. Who’s going to be taking the lead on this one.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen them around the school. In fact, I think you already met him.”

“That would be the big man himself!”

Lendrz growled. He recognized the voice anywhere. He turned to look at Black Star’s approach, not even trying to hide the scowl on his face. “You again.”

If Black Star was offended by Lendrz, he didn’t show it. Instead, his wide, overconfident smile was as bright as ever. Beside him was Tsubaki with her own apologetic smile. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Lendrz said as he turned to Death. “Of all people you could have paired me up with, you chose him?”

“Think what you want of Black Star here, but he’s one of our most promising pupils,” Death said. “He should be able to keep you safe.”

“Just stick close to me and no one will come close to hurting you,” Black Star boasted.

“Besides,” Began spirit as he flipped through a few sheets, “You topped the class in every physical test except for any that have to do with speed or agility. And even then, you didn’t exactly fail those either. Sid also reports that you’ve done well enough in your practical classes. Between the two of you, I think you can handle a gang of low-level Kishin eggs.”

“So, where is this gang located,” Lendrz asked as he turned his attention back to Death.

“I can answer that,” Tsubaki said. “Since I haven’t seen my parents in a while, this mission was a great excuse to visit my home in Japan.”

“Japan!” Lendrz exclaimed as his attention was snapped back to Tsubaki. “That’s all the way across the globe!”

“Now, now,” Death soothed. “Part of being an agent of the DWMA is traveling to where you’re needed. Don’t look at this like you having to go somewhere. Look at it as an opportunity to see the sights.”

Lendrz frowned but didn’t object. “Fine. When do we leave?”

“Your flight is scheduled for today. You should be leaving soon if you don’t want to be late.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So this is your family’s home?” Lendrz asked as they neared a modestly sized home. It looked like a very traditional Japanese home. A beautiful garden was built in the back, complete with a pond. The home was built just outside of town, but no so far as to be in the middle of nowhere. 

“Yes, I have a lot of fond memories of this place,” Tsubaki said. “That’s another reason why I wanted to accept this mission. The reports from the gang are in the town nearby.”

“Come on, Tsubaki, what are we waiting for?” Black Star asked, eager to get a move on.

“Please be on your best behavior, Black Star,” Tsubaki asked politely. “First impressions are very important.”

Black Star waved off her concern. “A big man like me always leaves a great first impression.”

“You certainly do leave a… unforgettable first impression,” Lendrz muttered under his breath.

Tsubaki led Lendrz and Black Star into her old home. Right as she was about to slide the door open, someone behind it did it instead. The person who opened the door looked like an older version of Tsubaki. A few grey streaks of hair traveled down her ponytail. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes, but she was still a beautiful woman. She wore a blue Japanese kimono. When she saw Tsubaki at the door, a smile spread across her face.

“Tsubaki, it’s nice to see you again,” she said kindly with an eastern Alternian accent.

“Hello, mother,” Tsubaki answered with the same accent. 

Her mother looked past Tsubaki at Black Star and Lendrz. “The one with the blue hair is Black Star, correct? Who is the other one?”

“My name is Lendrz Ridrez. I’m here to watch a pair of more experienced students during a mission,” the troll answered.

All three of them turned to Lendrz with surprise. Lendrz stared back at the three. ‘Er, what is it? Do I have something on my face?” 

“It’s nothing like that,” Tsubaki said. “It’s just I didn’t think you knew Japanese.”

Lendrz kept the surprise off his face, but internally he cursed himself for the slip-up. He had forgotten in this world, the easter accent was its own language “I’ve been studying it a little in my free time,” he said, doing his best to match her accent.

“Well, it shows. You still have some work to do, but I’m sure you’ll learn fast. Come, allow me to introduce you to my husband.”

Mrs. Nakatsukasa led them inside her home. The interior was as elegant and neat as it was on the outside. The Nakatsukasas seemed to have a fondness for flowers. Each room seemed to have at least one vase of flowers. They were lead to the backyard. Mr. Nakatsukasa was seated in a chair, admiring the view. 

Mr. Nakatsukasa was a strong looking man even in his later years. His salt and paper hair was pulled into a short, tight ponytail. While it seemed his daughter took after her mother more, there was still some family resemblance. Like his wife, he wore traditional Japanese clothing. He turned with a smile as he saw the newcomers.

“Hello, daughter. I did not expect you to return so soon,” he said happily. He turned to Black Star. “And you must be Black Star.” He then turned to Lendrz. “I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you.”

“This is Lendrz Ridrez,” Tsubaki said. “He’s here to see what an EAT mission is like.”

“If you’re a friend of my daughter, then you will always be welcome in this household. Please, take whatever time you need to prepare for your mission.”

It was at that moment that Black Star decided to open his big mouth. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe her parents actually like loudmouth,” Lendrz said as he walked back inside. He had decided to turn in for the night. Having a good excuse to avoid having to listen to Black Star was a plus. “Must be something that runs in the family.”

Lendrz rolled his shoulders and fought back a yawn. Black Star and Tsubaki had planned to start searching in the morning, and Lendrz agreed. 

“Wait, did she say the second door on the right or the third? I’m sure she said the second.”

Lendrz slid open the door and stepped through. He looked around the room. Everything seemed too personalized to be a guest room. There were shoes by the door, and a few more personal belongings around the room. 

“This must be Tsubaki’s room,” Lendrz said to himself. “She must have said the third door.”

As Lendrz turned to leave, he bumped into a dresser by the entrance. Something tumbled to the ground and landed with a thud. Lendrz’s shoulders jerked upward with surprise as he looked down with shock. A picture frame lay on the ground, face down. There weren't any glass shards on the glass, but that didn’t mean the glass wasn’t cracked.

“Uh, I really hope that didn’t break,” Lendrz managed to utter. He reached down to pick it up, hoping it was still intact. He flipped it and to his relief, everything was in once piece. The picture showed Tsubaki’s family from years ago. Tsubaki looked to be around twelve and wore a Kimiko like her mother. Oddly enough, there was another member of the family. A boy a little older than Tsubaki stood beside her dressed in traditional clothes as well. Where Tsubaki took after her mother, this one took after his father. A long ponytail trailed down his back and bangs framed his face. Everyone in the picture was smiling. All in all, they looked like a textbook happy family. 

“I see you found my brother’s room.”

Lendrz whipped around to seep Tsubaki. She looked uncomfortable, and the look worsened when she saw the frame his hands.

“I’m sorry. I think I misheard your mom’s directions,” Lendrz managed to stammer.

“It’s fine. I should have led you to your room myself,” she said solemnly. She took the picture from his hands and looked at it sadly. 

“That boy in the picture. He’s your brother, right? Is he around here somewhere? I haven’t seen him.”

“He is my brother, but he won’t be joining us,” Tsubaki said. Her eyes never left the picture. 

Lendrz shifted his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. “I can see this is an uncomfortable topic for you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Tsubaki looked relieved and let herself relax. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll show you to your room and we can look for the Kishins tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The town proper was much more modern than Tsubaki’s childhood home. Paved streets wound through concrete buildings. Despite the reported Kishin sightings, everyone seemed to be going about their daily lives normally. 

“How do you two normally start a mission?” Lendrz asked the team as they walked through the streets.

Black Star crossed his arms and like usual, a confidant smile was plastered across his face. “First things first, we have to find the Kishins before we can do anything else.”  
.  
“Alright, with your Soul Perception, that’ll be the easiest part. Then I’ll just watch you two do your thing, and then we can all go home.”

Tsubaki ducked her head and looked a little embarrassed. “About that…”

“As if a big man like me needs to use Soul Perception to find my targets,” Black Star scoffed. “A true assassin relies on their senses to track targets.”

Lendrz rolled his eyes. If Black Star was less thick-skulled, Lendrz would have pointed out that Soul Perception was a type of sense, but he had a feeling that such a statement wouldn’t accomplish anything,

“How do we do things your way then?” 

“Recon, of course. We need to scope out the area and ask the locals. If we split up, we can get this done a whole lot faster.”

_And it’s a great excuse for me to get some distance from him. The day just started, and I’m already getting a migraine._

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lendrz agreed wholeheartedly. “Call me if you two see anything.”

Black Star gave him a thumbs up. “Just make sure to come running. I can’t promise I won’t kill them all before you have a chance to see anything. Even holding back, I’ll wipe those Kishins out in a blink of an eye.”

“Right,” Lendrz drawled, doing everything in his power to avoid rolling his eyes again. ‘Well, I’ll be seeing you guys later.”

Lendrz didn’t waste any time taking off in a different direction. Once he was sure he was alone, he let himself relax. 

“At least this way I don’t have to spend the whole trip with Black Star. Well, I better start asking around now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All that time and nothing to show for it,” Lendrz grumbled as he walked through the streets. 

Lendrz spent all day in the town, asking around, but he hadn’t found anything interesting or anyone who had any meaningful information. An angry growl from his stomach made him pause. 

“I haven’t eaten anything yet. I’d say I earned a break,” Lendrz said as he began to look for a shop.

He noticed a lit building in the corner. A paper sign advertised a ramen shop. His stomach growled again.

“Well, this is as good a place as any.”

As Lendrz neared the shop, the scent of ramen grew stronger. He had to swallow a mouthful of saliva to avoid drooling over himself. The shop had a wall of windows. He could see a few people enjoying their meals at tables by the window. A counter divided the kitchen from the rest of the restaurant. A young man was at the register. There wasn’t a door, but instead, some cloth hanging from the frame. Lendrz ducked inside and sat at the counter. 

The cashier bowed. “Hello, how can we serve you today?”

“Just give me a bowl of whatever your most popular dish is,” Lendrz said as he placed some bills on the counter.

The cashier took the bill and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not from here, are you?”

Lendrz nodded. “Yeah, I’m just visiting for a while.”

“I hope you enjoy your stay then.”

His food couldn’t come fast enough. When a bowl of ramen with a couple of soft boiled eggs was placed in front of him, he barely spent a second looking at it before he dug in. He used his chopsticks to shovel the noodles into his mouth. Once the noodles were done, he slurped down the broth and the eggs weren’t that far behind. In no time at all, Lendrz had all but licked his bowl clean. He leaned back and sighed, holding his stomach, content.

“Normally, eating like that would be kind of rude, but it’s always nice to see a customer enjoy our food.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I've spent the last few hours walking around. It’s nice to sit down to rest with some good food. You know, I could go for another bowl.”

“Coming right up.”

When his second bowl showed up, he took his time with it.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here? You’re Japanese is decent, but it could still use some work,” the cashier asked.

“I’m a student from the DWMA, a NOT student to be more specific. I’m basically just here to watch an EAT student in action.”

“Really? That must have been exciting.”

“I haven’t seen them in action. On this mission specifically, that is. I already know Black Star is a good fighter. I can attest to that personally.”

Lendrz picked up the bowl and slurped down the broth. “I really needed that.”

Before he could get up to leave, a man took the seat beside him. He was on the small side, but he wore a large, blue bulky coat. A green beanie covered his head. Between the collar of his coat and his beanie, only his eyes and lips were visible. Lendrz couldn’t see them from his angle, but the cashier looked frightened.

“What can I do for you?” the cashier managed to ask despite his fear.

“This is a restaurant, isn’t it?” the man gurgled. “I’m hungry, and I want to eat.”

“Of course. We’re known for our ramen. Would you like a bowl?”

A sadistic smile spread from ear to ear, revealing a set of sharp teeth that would put a bear trap to shame. “I’m so hungry not even a hundred bowls could fill me up, but your Soul would be a good start!”

Before the Kishin could pounce, Lendrz sprag from his seat and slammed his shoulder into its side, knocking the Kishin to the floor. Before Lendrz could finish it off, it sprang away and faced him, murder in its eyes.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt someone’s meal?” it hissed. 

“I assume you’re part of the gang that’s been eating Souls,” Lendrz stated as he shifted into a fighting position.

The Kishin didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed his coat and beanie and pulled them off. His thin papery skins almost hung off his body. His body was pale and grey and covered in long, think scars. They wound their away around his body like a full-body tattoo. Not even his face was spared from these tattoos. His beady black eyes vibrated as they focused on Lendrz.

“Are all those scars supposed to make me think you’re tough?” Lendrz asked, unimpressed.

The Kishin’s smile grew even wider. Instead of answering, the scars began to move, almost making a chewing motion. His thin skin looked like it had a layer of worms under wriggling and writhing underneath it. And then the scars on his skin opened to reveal rows upon rows of sharp teeth. There were mouths even on his head. Thankfully, there was tattered cloth covering his modesty. The entire performance nearly made Lendrz regret eating those bowls of ramen. Nearly.

“You Kishins really are disgusting creatures, aren’t you? I’ll be doing the world of favor by wiping you of its face,” Lendrz growled.

“Such confidence,” the Kishin began, every one of his mouths moving and talking together with the same gurgling voice. “You wouldn’t happen to be one of the DWMA students poking around here, would you? I wonder if all that training makes you taste any better. You’ll make a great appetizer for the rest of my meal.”

“What rest of your meal? It’s just me and you here.”

“What!?”

The Kishin looked around the now empty restaurant. “Y-you ruined my meal!”

“Ditto.”

The Kishin charged, all of his mouth opening and snapping maliciously. Lendrz really didn’t want to find out how hard those mouths could bite. He dived out of the Kishins path, but it reacted fast. It lashed out with one of its arms, managing to clip Lendrz’s shoulder. 

Lendrz hissed as the teeth raked thin cuts across his shoulder. He hit the ground rolling before stopping into a crouching position, facing the Kishin. Lendrz took a moment to look over his wounds. Thankfully, he was fast enough to avoid having a chunk of flesh bitten off of him and the teeth barely managed to breach his skin. Lendrz focused his attention back on his opponent.

The Kishin still had his back to Lendrz, but it didn’t turn around. In fact, it was as still as a statue. A thin whip-like tongue slithered out from one of the mouths on his arms and lapped at its thin lips. It turned and the mouth on his face turned into a smile. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever come across a taste quite like yours. I simply must have more!”

Several of his mouths snapped open and from each one, a tongue darted directly towards Lendrz. Before he could react, the tongues wrapped around his ankles and yanked him straight up. Lendrz yelped as he scrambled for anything to grab onto, only managed to nab a single jar from a nearby table. but It hoisted him directly over its body.

“Bottoms up!”

A long mouth that ran from his neck to his navel opened, wide enough to nearly split it in half. Lendrz’s eyes darted around the room for something to get him out of this. They ended up resting on the jar he managed to grab. An idea sprang into his mind when he read the label. 

“Hope you like Wasabi with your food!”

Lendrz threw the bottle with all his might. It shattered, splattering the spicy green paste all over its face. It howled as it threw Lendrz to the side and began to frantically claw its face. Lendrz tumbled to the ground a few feet away from the Kishin. He quickly recovered and moved to finish the monster off. He charged at the monster and slammed his fist into Kishin's throat. Luckily, the mouths around his throat stayed closed. Lendrz felt bones crunch like glass against his knuckles. The Kishin stumbled back, its head flopping around on a broken neck. It tried to gurgle out something, but it collapsed. The body didn’t stay long before it rapidly blackened and seemed to collapse into itself. Within seconds all that was left was a soul floating a few feet off the ground. The Soul was blood red with an almost black core. Scales formed on the outer layer and a tail gently waved from the top.

Lendrz walked up to the orb and grabbed it. The Soul had an almost spongy density. The scaled portion was a little rough, but not unpleasantly so.

“This is a Kishin egg, huh,” Lendrz said as he tilted the Soul around, looking at it from different angles. “Might as well be trash. I don’t have a use for it.” he tossed the Soul over his shoulder. It almost floated backward before slowing to a standstill, gently bobbing in place.

“I should tell the others I found one of the Kishins… but I still haven’t found exactly where his base is. I wish I had a chance to question him. This would be a lot easier if I mastered Soul Perception.”

Lendrz turned back to the Soul and raised an eyebrow. “I think I have an idea.” He walked back to the Soul and scooped it back up. He focused intently on its core. “What did Sid say again? Focus on my breathing and visualize it in your mind? If only it was as easy as talking about it.”

Taking a deep breath, Lendrz looked up from the Soul and tried to seek out its brethren. He remembered the rage and hate the Kishin had in life, how they were devoid of anything but the desire to hunt and feed. With every breath, he could feel his awareness spread further and further. First, he saw the Soul he held without opening his eyes, and then he could “see” dozens of blue Souls around. More importantly, he noticed an intense spot of hatred. He turned and focused on the spot. Just on the corner of his awareness, he could see about a dozen Kishin Souls.

“There we go.”

But that wasn’t the end of it. Among those red orbs, he could see a lone small purple Soul.

“A Witch Soul? What’s a Witch doing here?”

Witches were known to work with Kishins from time to time, but only the desperate ones did that on account that Kishins weren’t able to shield their souls. The more Kishins in one spot, the easier they were to find. If there weren’t so many in one spot, Lendrz wouldn’t have been able to find them.

“I should tell Black Star first… but maybe I should try to warn the Witch instead. I’m sure the straggler was disobeying orders anyway. If she didn't already know we were here, this definitely would have rung the alarm bells. I’m sure she’ll understand once I explain things to her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Witch’s hideout was an abandoned factory in a long since empty neighborhood. With his newfound Soul Perception, he couldn’t see a single human Soul nearby. The only Souls around were the dozen or so Kishin in the factory. He could see a lone one by the entrance, presumably a lookout.

“Let’s get this over with so I can call it a day already.”

Like the other, he wore large bulky clothing to conceal its twisted form. It leaned next to a rusty door, only occasionally looking up to scan the area. He had to be careful about approaching it. Aside from their hunger for souls, Kishins were unpredictable. 

Before he approached the Kishin, he let himself relax and let his Soul Protect fall and his disguise fell with it. Lendrz didn’t realize how cramped it felt to constantly shield his Soul until he let it drop. He breathed deep and it felt like it was the first time he was able a lungful of air. The only other Meister here was Black Star, and he couldn’t use Soul Perception.

Lendrz approached the Kishin. Its head snapped up to flare at Lendrz. A large hat hid most of its face, except for its jaw. He could see the Kishin open its monstrous mouth and a grotesque tongue lip its lips.

“Easy there, pal. I’m just here as a courtesy from one magic user to the other. I just want to talk to the Witch leading you guys.”

“The Witch? How do you know about her?” The Kishin growled.

“As I said, I’m a Sorcerer. Now, are you going to let me through or not?”

The Kishin grinned. “You got it the other way around. The Witch is working with us. It was annoying getting ahold of the brat, but with her, we’ll reach the top. And with another, we’ll reach it even faster!”

The Kishin lunged, but Lendrz was already half expecting that. He crashed his fist directly into the charging monster’s face. Apparently, it wasn’t much stronger than its compatriot. Bones crunched under his fist and the Kishin collapsed into a Kishin Soul.

“With how fragile you guys are, I’m surprised you managed to bag a Witch. You guys probably caught her while she was asleep or something,” Lendrz remarked as he looked at the floating Soul.

Lendrz looked back to the factory with Soul Perception. The other Kishins were still about their business. He frowned and considered his options. He didn’t owe the Witch anything. He could leave and be done with it. That would be the smart move. But he couldn’t help from feeling a sense of commitment. It’s not like the Kishins seemed particularly dangerous if the other two were anything to go by. With his strength and power, it wouldn’t be very difficult. 

“Damn, I’ve gone soft. Whatever, sneaking by these idiots will be a breeze with Soul Perception.”

And like expected, sneaking into the factory was as easy as it looked. Lendrz could easily see wherever the Kishins were and their patrols. It took a while to navigate the factory’s innards, but he did eventually make it to a storage room of sorts. Old rusty shipping containers littered a large room. Lendrz could see the Witch Soul in one of the containers, but it was guarded by a lone Kishin. Unlike the others, this one actually seemed powerful. He probably needed to use magic to clean this up. He snuck up on the Kishin and peeked around the corner of another container.

The Kishin had a wide, toadlike face, but not alien enough to look inhuman. He had broad shoulders. Muscles bulged from under an ill-fitting two-piece white suite. Despite his more or less human appearence, his Soul radiated power. He leaned against the container that housed the Witch and a bored expression. 

Lendrz pointed his right hand at the Kishin and began to gather power. Purple flame gathered in his palm and caught the Kishin’s attention, but it was too late. However, the fireball didn’t wait for him to launch it before it exploded. 

A point black explosion kicked up lots of smoke and debris everywhere. The blast also knocked Lendrz back so hard into another storage container he was nearly torn through it. Lendrz’s head was ringing, both from the sound of the blast and the impact.

“F-fucking hell,” Lendrz stuttered as he unsteadily climbed to his feet. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“And what was supposed to happen?” the Kishin demanded with a deep growly voice as he stepped closer to him. 

“You being burnt to cinders,” Lendrz scowled as he finally recovered.

The Kishin smiled. “Then my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. I wonder how strong I’ll become when I devour a Witch’s Soul.”

“I’m technically a Sorcerer, but whatever. Let’s get this over with. The sooner I kill you, the sooner I can stop looking at your ugly mug.”

The Kishin barked out a laugh. “Like I haven’t heard that one before, but I’ll honor your final wish.”

Barbed bone-white spines burst out of the top of his head, his back, and his arms. They tore through his suit, leaving it in shambles. The Kishin smiled before he dived towards Lendrz, but he didn’t even come close. Instead, he tucked himself into a ball and hit the ground rolling. The Kishin barreled to Lendrz with surprising speed, it spines tearing up the concrete floor as it went. 

Lendrz barely had enough time to dive out of the way, missing the Kishin’s destructive path by a few inches. The Kishin chewed through the shipping container Lendrz crashed into like it was made of paper mache. It slowed to a stop before it began to uncurl and turn around. Lendrz growled as he examined the Kishin with caution. This monster was actually strong enough to do some serious damage. 

“What’s wrong!” the Kishin barked. “Where did all that confidence go!?”

This was bad. Lendrz had underestimated the Kishin’s power. And even that wouldn’t have been a problem if his magic worked properly. He didn’t want to run the risk of trying again for the risk of knocking himself to the floor and leaving himself vulnerable. 

The Kishin continued his attack. He dived and rolled towards him. Even when Lendrz knew what was coming, he still barely managed to get out of the way. This time Lendrz didn’t wait for the Kishin to attack again. He fled into the maze of storage containers. 

“What was all that about burning me to ashes!? Come one! Show me some fire!”

Once he made some distance, Lendrz pressed his back against a container. 

_This is just flat out embarrassing. That asshole wouldn’t be dead by now if my powers worked._

Lendrz looked down at his hands with a scowl. He hadn’t messed up like that since he was a kid. Stopping the Kishin’s role with just his hands would get him killed. There had to be a way to kill that bastard. Then an idea occurred to him. He began to use his claws to etch something on the container. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey! Are you looking for someone?”

Lendrz stood in plain sight before the Kishin. It turned to him and smiled. 

“I see you’re done running. About time you manned up and faced me.”

“Yeah, so why don’t you stop talking and start rolling.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.”

The Kishin began rolling towards him, all according to plan. Lendrz had to resist every urge to dive out of the way if he wanted his plan to work. If the Kishin managed to stop itself, then everything would be lost.

Finally, at the last possible moment, Lendrz dived out of the way, hopefully for the last time. The Kishin slammed directly into the rune Lendrz carved into the container. Instead of tearing into it, a powerful blast of fire erupted from it. The Kishin didn’t make a sound as its flaming body was thrown several feet away. Its body tumbled across the floor. As it tumbled, it shrank until there was nothing but a soul left.

Lendrz picked himself up and brushed the dust off. “Told you I’d burn you to ash. Just not in the way I expected. Now, I have a Witch to get to.”

Luckily, the container was still intact. The door was held in place with a simple bolt. Just as he was about to open the door, someone else distracted him.

“I assume you’re the one who killed the guard out front.”

Scowling turned to the newcomer. He was an ordinary looking young man wearing a dress shirt, sandals, tattered dress pants. A green overcoat hung around his shoulders like a cape. His blonde hair reached just past his shoulders and his bangs were swept to the left. His intense blue eyes glared at Lendrz, ready for any sudden moves. In his right hand, he held a katana.

“I did, and I just finished up taking care of another guard.”

The stranger nodded. “That was probably the blast I heard.”

“It was.”

The stranger pointed his sword at Lendrz. “I am under orders to exterminate the gang here, but with all the Kishins I’ve killed and the two you did, that’s all the members. That just leaves you. Who are you?”

“I’m not a Kishin or a member of this gang if that’s what you’re wondering,” Lendrz spat, insulted.

“Then I have no business with you. I suggest you leave. Now.”

“Y-yeah, I’m just going to grab a friend of mine and go,” Lendrz said as he pointed to the storage container. “She’s the reason I’m here.

“Your friend, she’s a Witch isn’t she?”

Lendrz froze. “Uh, are you with the DWMA? I didn’t know there were any agents here aside from a couple of EAT students.”

“I’m not part of the DWMA, and if you’re after the Witch as well, then you’re also a target.”

Lendrz barely had a second to react before the assassin dashed towards him and moved to decapitate him with a single downward stroke. He barely managed to lean back. The blade whizzed right in front of his face, still managing to lop off a lock of hair. Lendrz cocked his right hand back and moved to punch him with all his strength. The swordsman moved to block with his free hand. Normally, the swordsman’s block would be enough, but he wasn’t prepared for Lendrz’s inhuman strength. 

If the punch connected, it would end the fight before it even began, but the swordsman reacted fast. Seemingly sensing the power behind the punch, the swordsman threw himself back. Lendrz’s attack connected enough to throw the swordsman back and slam him into a storage container. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to finish him off. He climbed back up and his glare intensified.

“I was really hoping that would be the end of it,” Lendrz said to himself.

“If it makes you feel any better, it would have been if you attack connected fully,” the swordsman said as he watched Lendrz for an opening.

“You wouldn’t happen to want to give me another shot, would you?”

“No.”

The swordsman threw his weapon, but instead of flying towards Lendrz, the blade flew above him, into the ceiling. Lendrz raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, I think you missed. By a lot.”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he pointed up. Before Lendrz could do anything else, the roof began to cave in with a deafening crack. There was no time to dodge as a mass of wood fell towards him. He could only raise his hands to protect himself. To his surprise, the second before he was crushed, a pair of dark purple wings materialized in front of him but the debris still crashed into him, burying him under a mountain of rubble. 

The swordsman watched the pile of rubble, but there were no signs of life. He wordlessly walked to the container Lendrz was in front of and opened it. The inside of the container wasn’t much better than the outside. The only semblance of comfort was a pile of dirty blankets shoved into the corner. A small, human bundle was huddled among them. 

“Are you the Witch?”

A head poked out of the bundle and she looked at him with fear-filled eyes. The Witch was still a child. Her hair was pale pink, and her sea green eyes had an unusual ringed pattern. A large conical has sat on her head with a long tail like tip. A pair of chameleon-like eyes and mouth was stitched to her hat. A long fabric tongue stuck out from its mouth.

“Is it safe?” she asked with a trembling voice. “I heard a lot of loud noises outside.”

The swordsman's eyes widened when he saw the girl, but before he could respond, the pile of rubble began to shift. Lendrz managed to poke his upper half out of the top of the rubble. He appeared to be mostly unharmed aside from a couple of scratches, bruises, and a fine layer of dust covering him. He coughed up a lung full of dust before he focused on his attacker.

“I surrender,” Lendrz managed to gasp between coughs. Not that he had many options.

The swordsman’s gaze switched from the child to Lendrz, his expression unreadable. “I accept your surrender,” he said.

Still coughing, Lendrz managed to finally climb out of the ruble. He shook his head and brushed the dust off his clothes the best he could. Once he finished, he focused back on the swordsman.

“Is that the Witch?” Lendrz asked. “Do you mind if I get a little closer?”

The swordsman shook his head. Lendrz staggered his way to the container. When the little Witch noticed him, she eeped and moved as far away as she could from him, fear written across her face. Lendrz waved at the girl as he finally could get a lungful of clean air.

“Sorry, I don’t usually look like this. I’ll have to shower all this dust off later… Oh, it’s the horns, grey skin, and teeth, isn’t it? That’s normal for me actually.”

“What are you going to do?”

Lendrz glanced at the swordsman. “Yeah, what are you going to do?”

The swordsman was good at keeping his expression controlled, but this time his brow furrowed and the corner of his lips twitched downward in a frown.

“What’s your name? Do you have anyone that can take care of you?” he asked.

Tears formed in her eyes as she sniffed. “My name is Angela, and I’ve been alone since I lost my parents,” she said with a trembling voice.

The swordsman didn’t hesitate to comfort her, kneeling down at her level. “Then I’ll keep you safe.”

Angela looked even closer to breaking down into tears. She nearly jumped forward and tried to wrap her small arms around his chest.

Lendrz watched the interaction with a raised eyebrow. It was hard to believe that the same man comforting the child was the same who nearly beheaded him and buried him under a pile of rubble. Despite his first impression of the swordsman, Lendrz couldn’t help but feel a little touched at the sight.

“This wrapped itself up neater than I expected,” Lendrz said as he crossed his arms. “I didn’t think she was so young. I didn’t have a plan to take care of her.”

“Neither did I,” the swordsman said as he stood up with the girl still by his side.

“Who are you and why were you here if you don’t mind me asking.”

“My name is Mifune and I work- or worked for the De Niro Crime family. I was assigned to take care of this gang when the De Niros learned that they managed to capture a Witch.”

“What’s the plan for you now? I don’t know much about your now former bosses, but I don’t think crime families are known for being particularly forgiving.”

“You’re right about that. Their reach is far. I might have to leave the country. What about you? Who are you?”

Lendrz shrugged. “Just a Sorcerer watching out for a Witch.”

Mifune nodded.“That would explain how you survived the collapse. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me when something flashed before your arms.”

_So it wasn’t just me then. I’ll have to ask Medusa about this as soon as I get back._

“You’re a Sorcerer?” Angela asked as she poked her head from behind Mifune. “You’re like me?”

Lendrz looked at the kid with what he hoped was a disarming smile. “That I am, but it looks like you didn’t need my help. Mifune here would have saved you anyway. Just make sure you keep up your Soul Protect. We don’t want any Meisters finding you.”

Angela nodded. “Will I see you during Mass?” she asked.

“Maybe one day, kid. I mostly keep to myself at the moment.”

Angela nodded and scooted back behind Lendrz. 

“Looks like this is where we part ways, Mifune. The sooner we get out of her, the better.”

Mifune looked closely at Lendrz. “You’re still a kid too aren’t you? I couldn’t tell at first because of the grey skin and horns.”

“Er, yeah, I guess I’m still pretty young,” Lendrz admitted.

Surprisingly, Mifune actually looked a little remorseful. “If I had known that, I would have acted differently. Here, take this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of red candy in a red wrapper. He held it to Lendrz.

“Thanks?” Lendrz said unsurely as he took the sweet. 

“Stay safe.”

With that, the swordsman turned and began to leave with the Witch right behind him. Out of curiosity, Lendrz activated his Soul Perception to get a look at Mifune’s soul. His mouth went dry as all coherent thought ceased. 

“...Wow… I never stood a chance.”

Mifune’s soul was massive, encompassing him and Angela and then some. It was a radiant, almost blindingly bright blue. Yellow police tape was wrapped around the Soul with KEEP OUT written in English. Several swords stuck out from the top, just like the one he wielded earlier. 

He turned off his Soul Perception and looked down at the candy given to him, still shaken by what he saw. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. The second it touched his tongue, his face soured and he nearly gagged.

“Seaweed!? Who the fuck makes seaweed candy!?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And that’s basically it,” Lendrz said, finished with his explanation. Of course, he had to embellish a little. In his version, the only Kishin he killed was the one in the noodle shop. After that, he discovered his Soul Perception. Before letting Black Star and Tsubaki, he wanted to gather information only to discover that all the Kishins have been killed.

Black Star leaned back in his seat in the living room and groaned. “That means we have to go back without getting to fight anyone,” he groaned.

“At least Lendrz learned how to use Soul Perception,” Tsubaki added optimistically. “I’d say that makes the trip worth it.”

“I guess so,” Black Star replied as he crossed his arms, still disappointed.

“And you managed to beat a Kishin without a partner. That’s impressive for your first battle,” Tsubaki added. 

“Yeah, but I would have preferred to do it before he gave me a few bruises,” Lendrz lied as he nursed the bruises Mifune had given him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ask my mother for help? She can help and I’m sure she won’t mind waking up to help you.”

“I can wait until we’re back at the DWMA,” Lendrz brushed off her concern. “With the Kishin gang destroyed, we have no reason to stay. Unless we have to investigate what killed them all.”

“No, you’re right. The police will handle the investigation better than us.”

Lendrz stretched his arms up high and yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I for one, can’t wait until we’re back at the DWMA.”

_And the sooner we’re back, the sooner I can ask Medusa what’s going on with my flames._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I see you’ve had an eventful trip,” Medusa said as she took in Lendrz’s explanation. He had gone to her office once he was finished with his debriefing at the Death Room. He had taken a seat on one of the beds while Medusa sat at her desk. The nurse had patched what minor injuries he received.

“That’s an understatement. Now, I was really hoping to talk to you about my magic,” Lendrz said as he leaned close and explained what happened to him.

Medusa contemplated the information. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of anything like this. Your situation is unique, but I think I have a theory.”

“What is it?”

“As you learned the magic from this world, you have begun changing. Slowly, but surely, your magic has adapted to this world. You haven’t felt anything different because you covered up your power with Soul Protect. That would also explain the wings you manifested. They might be your first steps to your motif.”

Lendrz sighed. “Looks like all those years I spent back home training just went down the drain. The wings I manifested… They were black, so maybe something like a crow or a raven. The Grand With Maba is a raven, right?”

Medusa chucked. “I wouldn’t get so carried away if your motif ended up being a raven. Your theme doesn’t guarantee being powerful. That’s something you have to work for. I’m a snake, but I still like to consider myself to be fairly powerful.”

“Speaking of working, how exactly am I going to practice my new magic? I can’t really do it here in Death City.”

Medusa paused to think. “I may have a solution to that. Meet me by the city outskirts. We can take my broom until we’re out of range of anyone’s Soul Perception. Then we can open a portal to the Witch Realm. Once we’re there, we can work until you can transform into your motif. You summoned wings, correct? If you can manage to transform, then you’ll be able to transform and be able to fly far enough by yourself.”

Lendrz raised an eyebrow. “I thought using spells would break my Soul Protect?”

“That’s usually the case, but a small handful of spells can still be safely cast without dropping your Soul Protect. Transforming into your animal motif is one of those few spells. Activating the enchantment on my flying broom is another. What’s the matter? You look almost disappointed.”

Despite the promise of practicing his magic more often, Lendrz couldn’t shake a feeling of disappointment as his shoulders slumped.

“What’s the matter? I thought you would have loved having the chance for more practice,” Medusa said, concerned.

‘Oh, I’m happy about that. I’ve spent years practicing my old magic back home. That Witch I rescued is probably a better magic user than I am now,” Lendrz lamented. “Now I have to begin from zero.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Lendrz. With your appetite for magic, I’m sure you’ll become a master before you know it,” Medusa assured.

Lendrz perked up a little “Thanks, Medusa. It’s comforting to know I can count on you.”

Medusa smiled. “I do always have your best interest at heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how I said I would work on the main fic? Well that was a lie. I really wanted to introduce Mifune and Angela and officially swap Lendrz's magic to the Soul Eater system. I was thinking a lot about what Lendrz's motif would be. I bounced back and forth between a bull or some kind of bird. In the end, bull was too easy. Then it was what kind of bird. For a while it was some kind of owl, but I ended going between a crow or a raven. I'm thinking crow so far. Anyway, thanks for reading.
> 
> I'm still working on Re Zero. Once I finish the new season, I'll write another chapter.


End file.
